Vampire's Curse: The Curse Of The Damned
by The Chuckinator
Summary: When the vampire Shadow finds a cursed soul, a long-forgotten evil and twisted destiny bind them to each other and the fate of the world. A side story to Vampire's Curse; RP with Fangs Of Lightning.
1. The Four Vampires

Vampire's Curse: The Curse Of The Damned  


By Fangs Of Lightning And The Chuckinator

Chapter 1: The Four Vampires  


In the town of Transylvania, there was a castle that belonged to Count Dracula. The vampire had lived there for centuries, and he liked it. On the edge of the castle's borders was a forest that had been burned by a fire long ago, and was slowly repairing itself. He stood by the window, looking out across the landscape that he had called home for so long. The vampire sighed and shook his head, then walked out of the castle and into the burned forest. He looked around at it.

"Great to see you growing back," he muttered.

A voice came on the wind. _Thank you.  
_

The vampire looked around when he heard the voice, and smiled. It had been a long time since he'd been here. "I should have come out here more often." Dracula sighed and frowned when he remembered when it had caught on fire. Fortunately, he had saved it before it was beyond repair. "How long do you think that will take?"

The answer came on the wind. _I've been healing for 100 years, so probably another 5 or 10._

"That's a shame."

 _You can speed up the process by planting trees. If you do that, I'll probably be fully recovered in a few months._

"I'll try that then."

The wind died down, and Dracula walked out of the forest. He sighed, wondering how Ivan, Tails, and Shadow were doing in England. The city was bound to have changed in 100 years.

He returned to the castle. The sun was coming up, so he had to sleep. Soon, he was in his coffin falling asleep. As he did, he wondered how the others were going in England. He fell asleep, hoping they were happy.

* * *

Shadow stretched and sat up, looking over at the curtains. The vampire yawned and went over to them, throwing them open and looking out at the night sky. Ivan walked in and saw him.

"Morning Shadow. Get enough rest?"

"Yeah. Although it's not really morning."

Ivan chuckled. "For us it is."

"That's true. So, how are you and Tails doing in your relationship?" Shadow asked.

"We're doing fine."

"That's good to hear." Shadow walked into the other room, and saw Tails climbing out of his coffin. "Morning Tails."

"Hi Shadow," the vampire fox said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well."

Tails smiled. Ivan walked up and kissed him. "Shall we go feed, my love?" he asked Tails.

Tails nodded. The two vampires turned into small bats and flew out the window. Shadow watched them leave and changed as well, following the two lovers. Outside the castle, the vampires flew until they saw a promising location. They landed and changed back.

The vampires looked around the town, Shadow shaking his head. "This is too easy."

"How so?" Tails asked.

"Look at them." Shadow gestured around at the people. "They're wandering around at night, oblivious to anything that could happen. Most of them, anyway."

Ivan chuckled, baring his fangs. "Well then...let's give them something to be frightened of."

"We can't just go exposing ourselves like that."

"What do you suggest we do? We need to feed."

"We can feed without causing a big stir. You know that."

Ivan nodded. "Okay. Shall we?"

Shadow nodded and the vampires went to feed. They went their separate ways, looking for victims to feed on. When they were done, they met up with each other again.

"What now?" Shadow asked.

Ivan shrugged. "What do you think we should do?"

"Look around?" Tails suggested. "England's always beautiful at night."

"Everything's beautiful at night."

Tails smiled and looked at Shadow. "How do you think Dracula's doing? We haven't seen him in years."

"I'm sure he's doing fine." Shadow looked at Tails. "We can go see him again if you want."

"That would be nice," Ivan said. "I would like to see Vlad again."

"Then let's go on a trip," Shadow said. "England was starting to get boring anyway."

"Sounds good. When should we leave?"

"Why not tonight?"

Tails and Ivan smiled.

"Sure," Tails said.

The three of them changed into bats and left for Romania.


	2. A Family Reunion

Chapter 2: A Family Reunion

It took a while, but the three vampires eventually reached the town of Transylvania. They had flown there in the forms of bats, and looked down as they approached the town.

 _Hasn't changed much, has it?_ Shadow said.

 _Not really,_ Tails told him telepathically. _I wonder how the forest's doing._

 _We'll see when we get closer to the castle._ The three bats flew on until they reached the castle, and saw the forest in the background. _It looks like it's growing well._

Shadow smiled and changed back when he landed, the others following suit. They walked up to the castle door and knocked. It opened after a minute and Dracula smiled.

"Greetings," he said.

"It's nice to see you again," Shadow said.

"Same here. How long has it been since we've seen each other?"

"A few centuries, at least."

Shadow smiled and they walked inside. Vlad looked at Ivan. "It's good to see you, brother."

"It's good to see you too," Ivan said. "How have things been here?"

Dracula shrugged. "Boring," he said. "There isn't much to do. I visited the forest yesterday, though. It's healing, but it'll take five more years for it to be fully grown."

"Five? How can you tell?"

"It told me."

"I see." Ivan looked out toward the forest. "That's good to hear."

Dracula smiled and walked into the great hall, sitting down at a table. "So, how is England?"

"Boring now." Ivan shrugged. "I'm really not sure what to say."

The elder vampire nodded. "I've been there before, but it's only been a few times."

"Has anything been happening at all around here?" Shadow asked.

"Not really. Some of the villagers were hosting a party a few days ago, but I didn't join."

"A party? Oh never mind." Shadow placed his elbow on the table, cheek resting against his hand.

Dracula looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"I've just grown disenchanted with this life. It's boring, and I know I can get more out of it. Just not sure where to look."

The vampire smiled and looked at Tails. "So, how are you and Ivan doing in your relationship?"

"Very well." Tails said.

"That's good."

"Do you get many visitors here?"

Dracula shook his head. "No, not really."

"Then we'll stay a while," Ivan said.

"I'd appreciate it. How long do you want to stay?"

Ivan shrugged. "As long as we can, I suppose," he said.

"That would be nice."

Dracula smiled. "Would you like me to show you around the castle?"

"Has it changed any since we were last here?" Ivan asked.

"No, it hasn't. I don't really use modern tech anyway, so I haven't updated much of the castle."

"Our rooms are the same, then?"

Dracula nodded. They found their rooms again after a few minutes.

"Make yourselves at home," Dracula said.

"We will."

The elder vampire smiled and left. Shadow and the others looked around. "This place really hasn't changed at all."

"No, it hasn't," Ivan said.

"Should we get reacquainted with our rooms before finding anything else to do?"

Ivan and Tails nodded.

"That would be nice."

"So, an hour then?"

"Sure."

The three of them went to their own rooms. They looked around. Everything was unchanged. Shadow went to the bed, running a hand along the top blanket before sighing. A smile came to his face and he sat down. This would be great. Getting to see family again after so long. He hadn't seen Dracula in a long time, and it would be nice to visit with him. Maybe while he was there, he could take a look around the nearby towns as well. The vampire sighed and looked around the room, then walked out. He wanted to see how Ivan and Tails were doing. Going to their room, he knocked.

"Yes?" Tails asked.

"I was wondering how you two were doing," Shadow asked.

There were the sound of footsteps and the door opened. Tails stood there and smiled. "We're doing fine. What about you?"

"Same here."

Shadow smiled and walked into the room, looking around. "You and Ivan seem to be settling in well."

"It's easier than either of us were really expecting, since the rooms weren't changed."

"You could say I'm old fashioned," a voice said.

Shadow, Tails and Ivan whirled around to see Dracula standing in the doorway.

"What do you mean by old-fashioned?" Ivan asked.

"I don't like change that much, and I prefer to stay away from modern day things."

"Ah. Can't say I blame you."

"So, what have you been doing in England?"

"Not much of interest."

"Do you three use modern technology?" Dracula asked.

"I do sometimes," Shadow said. "And Tails loves playing around with it."

Tails looked embarrassed, but smiled.

"What about you, Ivan?" Dracula asked.

"Not as much as either of them." Ivan shrugged. "It can be helpful at times."

"I see."

"What do you usually spend your time doing here?"

Dracula smiled. "Usually I stay here in the castle. Sometimes I go to the forest or village at night."

"Can we take a walk around the forest sometime?"

"Of course you can."

The three of them nodded.

"Great," Shadow said.

"I think I'm going to get some rest before I do anything else," Ivan said.

He smiled and sat on the bed.

"I'm going to take a look around," Shadow said. "See you later."

He walked out of the room.


	3. Tour Of The Castle

Chapter 3: Tour Of The Castle

After taking a quick look around the hall, Shadow started walking in the direction of the main hall. He walked along the long hallway before coming to the main hall. Shadow looked around and smiled. It really hadn't changed at all. Maybe it was better that way, though. It made the castle more familiar... easy to stay in. Shadow sighed as he ran a hand along the railing on the grand staircase.

The vampire walked up the staircase and looked around, wondering where Dracula was. Shrugging and deciding he didn't need to worry about it now, Shadow walked down the nearest hall. He saw a door open and looked in. Paintings hung on the walls in the room, with nothing else for decoration. Shadow walked in and looked at the paintings. They were beautiful, each depicting a different person from the last.

"Who are these people?" He asked himself.

Dracula's voice answered him.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Dracula walked over, stopping at Shadow's side. "They're people I've taken interest in over the years. Friends, if you want to call them that."

"Interesting," Shadow said. "They are beautiful. Did you paint them yourself?"

"Not at all. I hired someone I knew could capture them perfectly. It's been hard finding someone new each century, but well worth it."

"Who are they?"

"Suzie, Francis, Elizabeth, Bella, Henry, and Jane."

"Why do they interest you?" Shadow asked.

"There was just something about them that caught my interest." Dracula shrugged. "There's really no other way to explain it."

"Are they still alive?"

"No. They were good friends while they were alive." Dracula sighed and looked at him. "I do find myself missing them at times."

"What were they like?" Shadow asked.

"Kindness was a trait they all shared."

"That's nice."

"I don't know how to go into detail about them without keeping you here for a while."

"Ah," Shadow said. He smiled. "I'm glad you found people you could care so much about while we weren't here."

"Thanks," Dracula said. "It was nice to know them, but it's good to see family again."

"Family usually does that."

The elder vampire smiled and walked out of the room. Shadow followed him.

"I assume you were taking a look around the castle?" Dracula asked. "How much have you explored so far?"

"Not much," Shadow said. "Would you like to show me around?"

"If you wish."

Dracula walked off as Shadow followed him. He led Shadow through the castle, explaining as he went. Eventually they came to the library. It had a lot of books. Shadow looked around.

"You've expanded the collection over the years."

"I have," Dracula said. "Do you like to read, Shadow?"

"That would depend." Shadow walked forward and looked over one of the shelves, running a finger along the books.

"On what?"

"Genre, story, theme... There are certain authors I refuse to read."

He took a book out and looked at it. It was called "The Strain" by Guimerro Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and it was about vampires After flipping through a few pages, Shadow set it back on the shelf.

"Interesting. It seems the vampires are different than regular ones in that novel."

"They always are," Dracula laughed.

"Have you read it?"

"I didn't care to finish it."

"How come?" Shadow asked.

"I didn't like it."

Shadow smiled. "I'll have to read it sometime."

"Suit yourself."

"Do you like books about vampires?"

"I take amusement in what mortals come up with regarding our species. And horror, at times."

Shadow smiled. "Have you read Dracula by Bram Stoker?"

Dracula chuckled and nodded. It was an interesting book...but he didn't like his character being the villain. "I wasn't thrilled with my role."

"Because the author made you a bad guy?"

"Because he got me wrong. I can't really blame him, though. It's not like the man knew me."

Shadow smiled. "I see."

"I think I'll spend some time in here."

Dracula pulled up a chair and sat down, pulling out a book.

"I'll get back to checking out the castle," Shadow said before leaving the library.

The elder vampire watched him leave, and got back to reading. Shadow looked around for a moment before setting off down the hall to the left, opposite of where they had come from. As he ran down the hall, he came to a large balcony outside. Pushing open the glass doors, Shadow walked out onto the balcony and leaned on the railing. A smile came to his face as he felt the wind on his face, and looked out at the night sky. If there was one thing the country always had that other places didn't, it was a clear view of the night sky.

Shadow saw the forest in the distance. Looking on it from there, he could see how well it had been growing back over the centuries. The vampire sighed, and saw that dawn was approaching. After a sigh he went back inside the castle and headed to his room. Shadow climbed into bed and went to sleep.


	4. The Spirit Of The Forest

Chapter 4: The Spirit Of The Forest

The next night, he woke up and walked out of the room. Stretching as he walked, Shadow yawned. Tails, Ivan and Dracula walked out together.

"Would you like to feed with us?" Ivan asked Shadow.

"Nah. I'm good for now."

"All right. You'll have to drink blood sometime tonight, though."

They walked off.

"I can go a few nights without it," Shadow muttered.

He walked into the library and pulled out The Strain, then began to read. After a few minutes, Shadow set the book back into place and left the library. There was no sense staying inside tonight, not when he was in another country again. The vampire walked out of the castle and looked around, then headed for the forest. Taking a deep breath once he got there, Shadow smiled.

He looked around. The wind picked up, causing the tree branches to move. Shadow smiled and stood still, letting the wind blow through his fur and quills. The vampire closed his eyes and sighed happily. He hadn't been able to experience this in a long time. Not properly, anyway. Shadow opened his eyes and walked further into the forest. It was grand, much like it used to be. Placing his hands on the trees as he walked by them somehow calmed him. The forest was one of the things always on Shadow's mind. Whether or not it would grow back. How long it would take if it could...

A voice came on the wind.

 _Shadow..._

The vampire looked around. "Who's there?"

 _Just a spirit,_ the voice said.

"The spirit of the forest?" Shadow asked. "Dracula told me about you. What's your name?"

 _I don't have one anymore. Nor is it important._

The vampire smiled. "Fair enough."

 _I would like to help you, Shadow._

"Help me? How?"

 _You're lonely. I can help you find someone who can fill the emptiness you've so clearly been feeling._

Shadow blinked. "How can you do that? And how do you know?"

The answer came on the wind. _I'm a spirit- I see many things._

Shadow smiled. "All right. How can you help me?"

 _I can guide you._

"Guide me? How?"

 _Just trust me._

The voice faded away, and Shadow sighed. He walked back to the castle. That had certainly been a strange meeting. When he got back inside, he saw the three other vampires. They smiled when they saw him.

"Have a nice time out?" Dracula asked.

"Yeah," Shadow said. "I was talking to the forest spirit."

"What did it have to say?"

"It wanted to help me find some companionship because I've been feeling lonely."

"Ah." Dracula nodded. "Of course."

"You've been feeling lonely?" Tails asked. "How come?"

"I just have."

The fox smiled, and Shadow sighed. He walked into his room and closed the door, then sat on the bed. If he was honest with himself, he knew where the loneliness came from. Tails and Ivan were always together. The past few decades, Shadow had been feeling more left out of their lives as time passed. He sighed and shook his head. Why couldn't he find someone to spend time with? Shadow wanted to be with Ivan and Tails, but he felt like they were distancing themselves from him. Was there something wrong with him? Shadow shook his head. Of course not.

He sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. If the spirit could really help him, he might have to take it up on its offer. A few minutes later, Shadow heard voices in the hall. He went to the door and put his ear up against it. Tails and Ivan were talking about him.

"Why do you think Shadow's been lonely?" Tails asked his boyfriend.

"It could be anything," Ivan said.

The two tailed fox sighed. "I don't really like Shadow, to be honest. He's...weird. He's hardly ever social, and doesn't talk to us much..."

"He has gotten more withdrawn over the years..."

The voices got lower as they walked past the room. Shadow pressed his forehead against the door and sighed.

"I think there's something wrong with him," Tails said. "Remember what he did 200 years ago with Dracula's wife?"

Shadow's head shot up, and his ears folded back. Shoving the door open, he yelled.

"That was an accident!"

"No it wasn't!" Tails yelled. "You killed Dracula's wife, Shadow! You're crazy!"

"Tails..." Ivan began.

Shadow looked at Tails. Tears were building up in his eyes. "You have no idea what happened," Shadow growled. He shut the door with a slam and glared at them again. "But if that's how you feel then I don't want to be here."

He turned into a bat and flew out the window. When he was gone, Ivan turned to Tails. "Why did you say that, Tails?"

"Because it's true."

Ivan sighed; Tails had a point. They had found Shadow standing over Dracula's wife's dead body.

"Dracula clearly doesn't hold it against him," Ivan said.

"I used to," a voice said.

Tails and Ivan turned to see Dracula. "For how long?"

"A century."

"What made you change your mind?"

Dracula shrugged. "I didn't want to spend my life in revenge."

"Ah. Can't say I blame you."

"So, Where'd he go?"

"I don't know."

Dracula sighed.

Shadow flew into the forest and changed back to normal. He sat down and began to cry. Was this why Tails and Ivan no longer spent time with him? Because he killed Dracula's wife? Wiping his cheeks, Shadow leaned back against the tree and looked at the leaves above.

"That was two centuries ago. Why can't they let it go?"

He sniffed, and shook his head. Maybe he should just go back to England. Then again, all that would do was return him to the boredom he'd been feeling before they came to visit Dracula. Looking at the ground, Shadow idly brushed a few leaves away from him. Spending time in the country away from his family might actually do him good.

The wind picked up, and he heard the spirit's voice. _Need some help?_

Shadow looked around and nodded. "Yeah."

 _Go to the closest town. See what you find._

The vampire sighed and got up, then went to the town of Transylvania. The spirit's voice was in his mind.

 _Just be yourself. Let loose a little._

Shadow closed his eyes and sighed, trying to calm down.

"Let loose, huh." Shadow walked through town and tried to think of what to do. He looked around at some of the people walking around at night. "Not many people out at this time of night," Shadow muttered.

The vampire sighed and sat down on a bench. Leaning back, he looked up at the stars. A smile came to his face as he looked at them. He always enjoyed stargazing. He could sit there for hours if he felt like it, picking out each constellation. Shadow sighed as he looked up at the stars. It was truly a majestic sight to behold. Sometimes he wondered if there was other life out there.

Shaking his head and looking back at the town, Shadow stood. Might as well find something better to do with his time tonight. As he walked, he visited with some of the people in town. They were friendly enough, even if the one drunk did get much too close for Shadow's comfort. The vampire smiled and eventually walked back to the forest. After walking around for a while longer, he sighed. The sun was going to rise soon. He sat down in the shade and went to sleep.

As he slept, he began to dream. A blue orb floated in front of him and changed into a blue hedgehog.

"What the-" Shadow stared at the hedgehog. "Who are you?"

The hedgehog smiled. "I am the spirit of the forest."

"The spirit of the forest? You're the one that's been talking to me?" The hedgehog nodded. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you. You intrigue me."

"Intrigue you how?" Shadow snorted. "I'm a pretty boring vampire."

The hedgehog smiled. "Not as much as you think."

Shadow looked at the spirit in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You're far from boring."

"I am? How?"

The spirit shrugged. "I just think you're interesting."

"I see," Shadow said. A slight smile came to his face. "Thank you."

The spirit looked at him. "So, what happened earlier? I heard you crying slightly."

"My family. They..." Shadow sighed. "I'm not sure I want to talk about it."

"All right. If I may ask, how did you become a vampire? Were you born one, or turned?"

"Turned a long time ago." Shadow looked at the spirit in confusion. "I wasn't aware someone could be born a vampire."

"Vlad and Ivan were," the spirit said.

"They were? I didn't know that."

The blue hedgehog smiled. "How do you like being a vampire?"

"It's gotten boring."

"Really? How so?"

"It just has." Shadow looked down and shook his head. "The same thing, night after night... I can't really get to know anyone... I've run out of things to be truly interested in as time passed..."

"I see...I can help you, if you want."

"Help make living interesting?" Shadow snorted. "I doubt that."

The spirit smiled and walked up to him. "Well, what do you have in mind?"

Shadow stared at him. "I don't have anything in mind. There isn't much that can make this interesting for me."

"All right. Well, it was nice to talk to you, Shadow. I'll visit again sometime."

The blue hedgehog vanished, and Shadow woke up. He looked up and saw that the sun was rising. "Shit."

Shadow got to his feet and looked around, patting his arm where the sun had started burning him through the fur. There had to be someplace nearby he could get away from the sun.

 _Follow me,_ a voice said in his mind.

A blue orb appeared and rushed through the forest, going into a cave a few minutes later.

"This had better be safe," Shadow muttered. He went to the back of the cave as the orb vanished. Shadow looked around, glad that nothing was in here. At least the sun wouldn't get him.

"Time for another nap, then." Shadow stretched and found an area hidden enough for him to rest peacefully.

The vampire closed his eyes, and went to sleep.


	5. Sonic

Chapter 5: Sonic

When he woke later, night had fallen. Shadow yawned and sat up. He walked out of the cave and looked around. His fangs tingled, and he needed blood. Shadow sighed and grumbled in irritation.

"I'm really not in the mood," he muttered.

He could always get blood tomorrow. Of course, with that run-in with the sun earlier it might be a good idea to get some blood... Shadow sighed again and nodded. There had to be someone dumb enough to wander around the forest at night. The vampire ran through the forest and eventually saw someone. Keeping out of their sight, Shadow watched for a few minutes as they looked around in confusion. He grinned and walked up behind them, then dug his fangs into a person's neck.

They struggled for a few moments before giving in and relaxing against him, falling to the ground when he finally released them. Shadow grinned and wiped the blood from his mouth, deciding to go to the village to look around. There wasn't much going on at the village, mostly people closing up stores and going into the bar. The vampire sighed and sat down on a bench. A few minutes later he heard a yell and saw Dracula, Ivan and Tails walk up to him.

"What brings you three here?" Shadow asked.

"Just wanted to wander the village," Dracula said. "You?"

"More or less the same thing."

The elder vampire smiled and was about to speak when Ivan did. "Are you going to come back to the castle?"

"Not for a while. I'm going to spend some time with myself. Think about some things."

"That seems fair. I'm...sorry for what Tails said to you."

Shadow sighed and looked at the vampire fox, narrowing his eyes. "Why did you say those things to me?"

"Because it's what I think." Tails was looking away from him.

The ebony vampire sighed. "I'm not crazy," he muttered on his breath, and then looked at Tails. "Look...if you really think that, then I don't want to be around you. I should go."

He started to walk off when Dracula shouted his name. "Shadow! You're not going to leave the country, are you?"

Shadow turned to face him. "I'm not sure," he said. "Maybe."

With that, he turned and walked away.

 _You don't have to leave the country,_ the spirit said.

"Why not?" Shadow spat. "I'm obviously not welcome here."

 _You're not welcome in the castle, Shadow. That doesn't mean you have to leave the entire country. There are plenty of places you could go and people you could meet._

"I'm not very social."

 _You won't find a place you're welcome if you don't talk to people._

Shadow sighed and walked back to the forest. The blue orb appeared before him. Shadow tilted his head as he watched it fly off. The orb flew for a while until it reached a cave and went inside.

 _Follow me,_ it told Shadow.

"Follow... Okay." Shadow shrugged and followed the orb; how bad could it really be?

Its light shone through the cave until they came to the end. A cave painting was on the wall of a blue hedgehog and another hedgehog that looked like he had crystals all over his body. Shadow turned to look at the orb.

"Is that you?" He asked it, pointing to the blue hedgehog in the painting.

 _It is._

"What's this painting about?"

 _A curse. My body's been trapped in a deep sleep for...decades now, at least._

"Why did you bring me here?" Shadow asked. "What curse are you talking about?"

The orb glowed as it hovered in front of the vampire. _I can't return to my body until someone wakes me. There must be certain qualifications or something though, because everyone I've tried hasn't been able to so far._

"What qualifications?"

 _If I knew, I wouldn't be telling you this right now._

"What do you want me to do?" The vampire asked.

 _Figure out how to wake me up._

Shadow sighed; he had no idea how. "Where's your body?"

 _Farther in here._

The orb flew further down the cave as Shadow followed it. A few minutes later, it stopped in front of a coffin. Shadow approached the casket, peering down at the hedgehog through the glass. He looked peaceful, as if his sleep hadn't been induced by a curse.

"You say you were cursed?" He asked the spirit.

 _I was._

Shadow nodded and touched the coffin. Instantly, it began to glow. A few minutes later, the spirit's body opened his eyes. Shadow stepped back and watched as the lid was pushed open and the hedgehog sat up. Turning to Shadow, he smiled.

"Thank you for waking me," the spirit said as the orb vanished into his chest. He got out of the coffin and stood, bowing. "I would give you my name but I don't remember it."

"You don't remember?"

"I used to have a name, but no longer. It's not important anyway."

"Isn't your name one of the most important things about you?"

"Not to me. What good is a name if you can't remember it?" The spirit asked.

"You could always try to figure out what it was."

The hedgehog shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, I need a name for you." Shadow crossed his arms.

"Fine. Pick one."

"There anything you wouldn't mind being called?"

The hedgehog shrugged. "I dunno."

Shadow looked at him as he thought it over. "How about...Sonic," the vampire said.

"Sonic?" The blue hedgehog thought it over and nodded. "If that's what you want to call me."

Shadow smiled. "Very well. So...tell me about this curse you have."

"There isn't much to say." Sonic shrugged. "All I remember is being cursed into that sleep state, and then next thing I knew I was staring at my barely living body from outside that coffin. Been stuck in this forest since."

"Who cursed you?"

"Can't remember."

"How long ago was this?" Shadow asked. "Judging by the clothing you're wearing, I assume Middle Ages?"

Sonic looked down at his shirt, moving a foot out to look at the shoes he still wore before turning his gaze back to Shadow. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing," Shadow said, hoping he hadn't offended the spirit. "They just look...old. What time period are you from?"

"Period?" Sonic tilted his head in confusion.

"Ancient times, Middle Ages, Victorian era, things like that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry," Shadow said. "I was just wondering if you were from another time, but you probably don't remember. Never mind."

"Remember? I don't even know what you mean by 'another time'. Even if I had my memory, I still wouldn't be able to answer."

"I mean, what year are you from? It's 2015 now."

Sonic began to understand. "I don't remember."

Shadow nodded. "Well...what do you want to do?"

"It would be nice to go for a run."

"All right. Where to?"

"Somewhere outside the forest. I've been here way too long."

"How about to the village," Shadow said. "I can show you around."

"That would be nice..."

Shadow smiled and took Sonic's hand. "Then come on."

Sonic smiled and nodded. They walked into the village, and Sonic looked around.

"This place looks much different in this body," Sonic said.

"How so?" Shadow asked.

"I'm not sure exactly. There's just something different about it."

The vampire smiled, and looked up at the sky. "The sun's rising."

"Which means you need to return to the cave. Come on. You can use my coffin."

They returned to the cave and Shadow got into the coffin.

"What are you going to do while I'm asleep?" He asked Sonic.

"Dunno yet. Wander a bit, maybe. I won't go too far." Shadow closed the lid and went to sleep. Sonic smiled at him and walked out of the cave, looking around. He closed his eyes, feeling the energy in the air. "Nice weather for a run," he said. A grin came to his face and he took off.


	6. Looking Around

Chapter 6: Looking Around

The spirit ran out of the forest, heading for the castle. When it came into view, he smiled. It was something he had always wanted to explore. But the limit on how far he could go from his body had prevented it. He walked up to the castle and opened the door. Inside, he could only stabd and stare. It was beautiful. A smile came to Sonic's face and he walked around. Shadow had told him that the other vampires lived here, but most likely they were sleeping now. Surely they wouldn't mind if he didn't disturb them or take anything.

After looking around the great hall, he went upstairs. There wasn't much to look at, passing by doors and staircases as he explored. A door was open on the far side of the hall. Curious, he walked inside and looked around to see many pictures on the wall, as well as books on a shelf.

"This must be someone's study," Sonic said. He looked through the books, turning away in boredom before looking at the pictures.

There were many people on the pictures. None of them were people he recognized, and he sighed. Had it really been that long since he was cursed? Sonic shook his head and walked out of the room, going down the stairs and into the great hall once more. This was an amazing castle. He walked around the downstairs, greatly impressed with what this castle had to offer. How long had it been standing?

"Maybe Shadow will know," Sonic muttered.

The blue hedgehog came to the dining room and looked around. As expected of vampires, there wasn't much of interest in the room. Sonic nodded and left the castle, deciding that he would head into the village. He still had most of the day before Shadow would get up. As the hedgehog thought of Shadow, he wondered what Shadow thought about being a vampire.

Ever since he met the vampire, he had gotten the impression that Shadow was content with who he is. But at the same time... It seemed as if there was something missing. There wasn't really a light in his eyes, or even a glimmer of happiness in his aura. Sonic sighed. The best way to know would be to ask Shadow himself.

The hedgehog walked towards the village, looking at the forest. A smile came to his face. Despite no longer being its spirit, He still felt connected to it, and was glad that it was healing well. When Sonic got to the village, he looked around. It looked much different now that the inhabitants were outside, and he was no longer a spirit. Everything had a more lively look and the auras of the people no longer filled the air. Sonic smiled and walked up to a shop.

"Hello," the owner said as he saw the hedgehog stop in front of the shop. "May I help you?"

"Oh, I'm just taking a look around."

The man smiled as Sonic looked through the items in stock, then walked off. Sonic looked around at all the people, interested. Some were human while others were anthro.

"There's a mix of people here," Sonic said. He sat down on a bench and sighed before yawning. "All this moving around is making me tired... it has been a while." Sonic stretched. "Maybe I should go back to Shadow."

He stood and ran into the forest. Once he got to the cave, he saw the coffin Shadow was sleeping in. Sonic smiled and went over to the coffin, sitting in front of it to wait for Shadow. When night came, Shadow opened the coffin and sat up. He looked at Sonic, who was smiling.

"Evening," Sonic said.

"Hey," Shadow said. "Were you waiting for me to wake?"

"Yep."

A grin came to Shadow's face. "I see," he said. "So, is there anything you wanted to ask me?"

Sonic nodded. "How do you like being a vampire?"

"It's..." Shadow sighed. "Gotten boring over the years."

"How so?"

"I can't explain it well." Shadow shook his head.

Sonic smiled. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"Too long."

Sonic nodded, a little disappointed. He was hoping to get to know Shadow better, but the black hedgehog wasn't opening up.

"Do you have any memories at all?" Shadow asked after a few moments of silence. Sonic shook his head. "Any idea how long you were like that?"

"I don't know."

"At least you aren't completely in the dark to what the world's like now."

Sonic smiled. "I took a walk around the village when you were asleep...Transylvania's a nice place."

"It is."

"How long have you lived here?"

"I haven't lived here in a long time. I was just visiting."

"Where do you live?" Sonic asked.

"Britain," Shadow said.

"Cool. What's it like there?"

"Cold. It's been... It's a fine country. Maybe we can go there sometime and you can see it for yourself."

"I'd like that," Sonic said. "How long have you lived there?"

"You really want me to count the years?" Shadow chuckled. "About two centuries, give or take a decade."

"That's a long time."

Shadow smiled. "I did spend a few years in Italy."

"Cool."

"I'm more interested in you... Maybe we can do something about that missing memory."

"What do you think can be done about it?" Sonic asked.

"I'm sure we can find a way to get back pieces, at least. You'll at least have something from your past."

"I hope so. It would be nice to have some memories. I'd like to know who cursed me, and why."

"Whoever it was is probably long gone, by now. But I'm sure we can find something."

Sonic smiled. "Great! Where should we start?"

"How about that cave painting?" Shadow asked.

"You think it has something to do with it?"

"Probably."

Sonic nodded and hurried back to the cave painting with Shadow close behind him.


	7. Interview With A Vampire

Chapter 7: Interview With A Vampire

When they walked into the cave, Sonic saw the painting that Shadow had been talking about. He looked at it, nodding.

"Okay... Let's see..." He examined the painting and looked back to Shadow. "I have no idea what this is supposed to be saying."

"Is the writing in another language?" Shadow asked.

"There is no writing. It's just a bunch of pictures. And I have no idea what they're trying to tell me."

Shadow thought about it. "I see...well...let me look at them. I'm pretty good with pictures."

"Have at it."

The vampire smiled and examined the picture.

"I'd say this is showing the curse being placed on you." Shadow gently touched one of the images. "Not sure who this is, though."

Sonic looked at the painting. "Anything else?"

"I'm not entirely certain. I think this is supposed to be a hint how to break the curse..." Shadow shook his head. "I doubt it's showing anything else."

"Darn."

"Don't worry." Shadow looked over at him and smiled. "We just have to figure out who this is."

"Yeah," Sonic said.

"First things first. Time to find a library."

"You have a library at the castle, right? We could use that."

Shadow shook his head. "Dracula's personal interests won't help. We need a library with historical records and such."

"I did see a library in town while I was walking through the village earlier."

"They might have something that can help." Shadow nodded. "You'll have to go sometime tomorrow."

"That I will," Sonic said, smiling at Shadow.

"Hopefully they'll have something."

Sonic nodded. "Just wondering, do people around here know about vampires?"

"Fictional ones. I don't think most of them really believe vampires exist."

"That's interesting."

"Most humans don't really believe in vampires anymore. It makes hunting a little easier, but harder too."

"How's it make it harder?" Sonic asked.

"We have to make sure to cover up what happened. Better than we used to, anyway."

"That does sound hard."

"Especially with the way technology has advanced over the years."

Sonic looked at him, curiously. "Technology?"

"It's hard to explain... Technology makes things easier. For example... Electricity is used instead of fires to light areas. Cars instead of wagons and horses for travel. Humans have developed weapons using their technology. Much more advanced than anything I'm sure you ever encountered." Shadow sighed. "I'll show you so you can properly understand sometime."

"That would be nice."

"We should decide what to do for the rest of the night."

Sonic nodded. "How about we walk around?"

"It's better than nothing."

Sonic smiled and the two began to walk through the forest. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Shadow sighed.

"So," he said to Sonic. "Did you visit the castle?"

Sonic nodded. "I didn't want to disturb anyone though, so I didn't stay too long."

"What did you think?"

"It was pretty interesting."

"Glad you thought so," Shadow said. "I've always liked Dracula's castle."

"It's impressive, at least."

"It is indeed." He looked at Sonic. "Where did you live before you were cursed?"

Sonic stared at him, unimpressed expression on his face. "I have amnesia. How would I know that?"

"Sorry," Shadow said, smiling apologetically.

"It isn't that important anyway." Sonic stretched.

"Is there any way we could get your memory back?"

Sonic shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe I'm better off without it."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the world's so different. No point in remembering where I'm from or who I knew if I can't even see them."

Shadow nodded. "Makes sense, I suppose."

Sonic smiled. "No sense in letting the past get in the way of enjoying life as it is."

Shadow frowned. "That's what I used to think...then everything changed on that night."

"'That night'?"

"It was two hundred years ago...I was taking a walk with Dracula's wife, Maria, through the forest when...I killed her. It was an accident; I didn't mean to do it. But everyone thought I had done it on purpose, even Dracula. And now...they still do. Well, Tails does."

"If they don't want to hear your side of things, why bother with them?"

The vampire nodded. "That's one of the reasons why I'm so distant."

"Ah." Sonic nodded.

"But enough about that. What do you want to do?"

"Nothing much."

Shadow nodded, and thought about what to do. "We could just do what we have been, in that case."

"Sounds good to me," Sonic said.

Shadow looked up at the sky. "We still have time before the sun rises."

"Do you miss the sun?"

"Not really."

"How come?" Sonic asked.

"I wasn't really fond of it to begin with. Too bright and hot for me."

Sonic grinned. "I love the sun."

"Of course you do."

"So," Sonic said. "Since you're from England, do you have an English accent?"

Shadow nodded. "Just because I've been living in England doesn't mean I have a British accent. And if I do, it's slight."

"I've been noticing it."

"Some of my friends have worse accents."

"Really? Like what?"

"Like Antoine. He has a thick French accent. And Rouge has a much thicker accent than I do."

"Can you speak any other languages?" Sonic asked.

"A few."

"Which ones?"

"German, Russian, English, a bit of French, and Romanian."

"That's cool," Sonic said.

"I guess."

"The only language I can speak is English."

"Good thing it's English. Most of the world can understand that one."

Sonic nodded. "So...what powers do you have as a vampire?"

"Immortality, of course. I can shift into mist, a bat, and sometimes a wolf. I can run at high speeds." Shadow shrugged. "I never cared about learning any more than that."

"Can you control the weather? I heard vampires can do that."

Shadow laughed. "That would take a vampire stronger than me. Even the Dracula I know can't control it."

"When were you first turned?" Sonic asked.

Shadow thought about it. "A very long time ago. At least a few centuries."

Sonic nodded in interest. "Are there any other supernatural creatures besides vampires?"

"Plenty."

"Interesting."

Shadow smiled. "You just have to know where to look."

"How did you meet Tails, Ivan and Dracula?"

"I don't remember that well." Shadow shook his head. "I do know I met Dracula in a library."

"Was it he who turned you?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, actually."

"That's neat. How did it happen?"

"Curious little bugger, aren't you?" Shadow sighed. "I asked him to."

"How come?" Sonic asked. "Sorry I'm asking so many questions; it's not every day I meet a vampire."

"Partially curiosity, partially circumstances. Dying wasn't on my to-do list at the time. So what would convince you to choose an eternity as a vampire?"

"Me?" Sonic asked. "I'm not sure..."

"It was a hypothetical question. Don't worry too much about it."

"What was your life like before you became a vampire?"

"Don't remember much of it." Shadow shrugged. "I never really tried, either. I do remember it wasn't a terrible happy life."

Sonic smiled and stretched. His stomach growled, and he looked at Shadow. "I think I'll get something to eat."

"Want me to come with you?"

"I'd like that," Sonic said, smiling at the vampire.

"So... where are you going to go for food?" Shadow asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Any restaurants around here that you suggest?"

"Not many are open at night." Shadow laughed. "We could walk around until we find something appealing."

"Sounds good. Let's go."

They walked into town and looked around in search of a place to eat.

"Here's one," Shadow said when they found one.

The two walked in and looked around.

"This is nice," Sonic said, looking at Shadow. "Have you ever been here before?"

"Maybe once before."

What did you think?"

"I honestly don't remember."

Sonic nodded.


	8. Family

Chapter 8: Family

Nearly an hour later, Shadow was leading Sonic back to the castle.

"Where are we going?" Sonic asked.

"To the castle." Shadow looked at Sonic. "I figured I would have you meet my family."

Sonic chuckled. "I would. You've talked about them a lot. They must be important to you."

"Not sure how they'll react to you."

"Why's that?"

"I'm just not sure."

Sonic nodded. They soon reached the castle and walked inside.

"Is anyone here?" Shadow yelled.

Dracula walked into the room and saw Shadow. "Welcome back Shadow."

Shadow smiled. "Hey, Drac. How's everyone been doing?"

"Fine as usual."

Shadow nodded and Sonic walked forward. Dracula looked at him.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Dracula, lord of this castle."

"I'm Sonic, the former spirit of the forest."

"So you're the one I felt in the forest."

Sonic smiled and nodded. "Yep, that was me."

"This is incredible." Dracula walked forward until he was standing in front of Sonic. "Were you always in this form?"

"I was in the form of a blue orb, but I just recently got this form."

"Interesting... How long have you been here?"

"In this form, or as a spirit?" Sonic asked.

"Both."

"As a spirit, I've been here for four centuries. I've only been in the form of a hedgehog for a few days."

"In that case, I should welcome you back as well."

Sonic smiled. "It's an honor to meet the king of vampires."

"Well then I just hope I live up to your expectations."

"I have no doubt you will."

Dracula chuckled and looked at Shadow. "I think I like your new friend."

Shadow smiled. "Thanks."

"How long are you staying here?"

Shadow shrugged. "Depends. How long do you want me to stay?"

"More than a few days at least."

The black hedgehog thought about it, then sighed. "All right. But if Ivan or Tails say anything mean about me, I'm leaving."

"Fair enough."

Shadow walked past Dracula and went upstairs. Sonic followed him.

"Can I stay in your room?" Sonic asked. "I should probably get some sleep before going to the library for you."

"Fine by me," Shadow said.

Sonic smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm going to stay up for a bit."

Sonic nodded as Shadow showed him to his room. He went inside and fell asleep on the bed. Shadow smiled and closed the door. Looking around the hall, Shadow thought about what to do. He thought about talking with Dracula, and nodded. Shadow walked to the elder vampire's room and went inside. Dracula was looking out the window.

"Anything interesting out there?" Shadow asked.

Dracula turned around. "Just enjoying the view," he said. He walked towards Shadow and past a mirror, but his reflection didn't show.

"I'm kinda glad I came back here," Shadow said.

"Really? Why's that?"

"I missed talking with you."

Dracula smiled. "As did I."

Shadow smiled. Dracula bit his lip, thinking about something. Then he walked up to Shadow and kissed him. Shadow's eyes widened for a moment before he closed them and pressed closer to Dracula.

Dracula smiled and broke the kiss. "I've had a crush on you for some time, Shadow," he said.

"Even after what happened?"

Dracula nodded and kissed Shadow again. Wrapping his arms around Dracula, Shadow smiled.

"How long have you had a crush on me?" He asked Dracula.

"A few centuries at least," Dracula chuckled. "You know that."

"So, when we first met?"

"More or less."

Shadow smiled. "Well, I'm glad."

"Glad for what?"

"Glad that you fell in love," Shadow said.

"Have you found any love again?"

"I don't know. Not really. But I'm willing to give it a try, if you want."

"I would love to. It might be like old times again."

Shadow smiled and kissed Dracula. "Then will do that." Dracula smiled. Shadow smiled back. "I do need to help Sonic as well."

"You can do that too."

"Guess we have some catching up to do for now."

Dracula smiled. "I guess we do."

Shadow took a seat in the room as they started talking. They talked about many things, like what Dracula had done while the rest of his family was in England. Shadow talked about the few interesting things that had happened while in England. Before long, dawn was approaching.

"I should go to my room," Shadow said.

"I'll see you tonight," Dracula said.

Shadow smiled and left the room. When he got back to his room he knocked on the door and went in. Sonic was turning his face into the pillow, pulling the blanket up more.

"I'm going to sleep a while longer," he told Shadow. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Go ahead. Just don't forget to go check out the library later."

"Where are you going to sleep? I've taken your bed."

"I can share, it's no big deal." Shadow walked over to the bed with a grin. "Bed's big enough for two."

He got under the covers and yawned, then went to sleep. Sonic cuddled against Shadow.

"Good night," Shadow said.

"Night, Shadow."

Sonic woke up again an hour later, carefully pulling himself from Shadow's arms and getting off the bed.

"I'll let you sleep," he told the vampire, and left the room.


	9. Translation

Chapter 9: Translation  


The sunlight coming through the windows gave the castle a different look from what the night had. Sonic took his time walking through the halls.

"This is a nice castle," he told himself. He walked out and headed for the library. It wasn't a long trip, and soon he was walking through the front doors. He walked up to the receptionist. "Excuse me, do you have any books on curses?"

"Curses?" The cat looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Sonic shrugged. "Curses. Witchcraft. Magic. Things like that."

"We might have some..."

She walked towards the bookshelves and Sonic followed her. They came to a section, and the librarian pulled out some books.

"These might help you."

Sonic took the books. "Thanks."

"Just be sure to put them back here when you're done. Unless you want to check them out instead and read them at home?"

"I'll check them out."

"Okay, follow me then."

Sonic followed her to the checkout stand. After a few minutes, he had everything checked out and the slip safely tucked into one of the books so he didn't lose it. He smiled and headed back to the castle with the books. Once there, he sat down at the dining table and opened one of the books. Taking one look at the symbols on the page, Sonic closed the book again and sighed. He couldn't read Romanian. Sonic sighed and opened another book. That had the same symbols, and he sighed. It looked like he was going to have to wait tor Shadow to wake up.

"Why are all these books in Romanian?" He asked himself. "Oh, right. I'm in Romania."

Looking around the room didn't give him any ideas how to pass the time, so he got up and went to another room. He looked around the study and looked at the books on the shelf, then picked one out and opened it. He frowned, seeing that it was in Romanian too. Sighing, he sat down on the chair.

"Shadow needs to teach me Romanian," he muttered.

He looked around the study before standing up and looking out the window. Sonic saw the forest in the distance and smiled. It looked much smaller from here. He walked out of the room and went into the main hallway, looking around. Perhaps he could explore the castle. The vampires wouldn't mind as long as he didn't break anything. He hoped.

Sonic sighed and walked down the hall, opening a door. He looked in and saw Ivan and Tails sleeping together, their heads on each other's chests. He got a small smile before carefully closing the door again and leaving.

"They must really love each other," he said as he walked down the hall and opened another door.

This room was mostly empty, with a few tables and chairs. He went back to the hallway and opened another door to see an empty bed.

"They don't use many of these rooms, do they?"

Sonic closed the door and wandered through the hallways until he found the ballroom. He went into the ballroom and looked around, impressed. Then he walked out and continued to look around the castle.

That night, the vampires woke. Sonic was sitting in one of the rooms, flipping through an old book and sighing when Shadow came in.

"Hey, Shads," Sonic said. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well."

Sonic smiled. "Hey, I could use some help. I checked out some books from the library, but they're all in Romanian, so I can't read them."

"Where are they?"

Sonic picked up the books next to the chair he was sitting in and handed them to Shadow.

"I'll look through these." Shadow gave Sonic a small smile. "Any thoughts on what exactly I should be looking for?"

"They're books on curses," Sonic said.

"But what should I look for? Ones that can cause amnesia? Long sleep?"

"Sure."

"I'll see what I can find. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. Mind if I hang out with you?"

"It won't be interesting, but go for it."

The blue hedgehog smiled and followed Shadow. "Do you think that you can teach me Romanian?"

"It'll take a long time, but sure."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The vampire smiled and felt his fangs tingling. He had to feed.

"I need to go out and feed before I start reading."

"All right," Sonic said. "Want me to come with?"

"Only if you don't mind watching me kill someone."

Sonic thought about it. "I'll stay here, on second thought."

"Thought you'd say that. I'll be back soon."

He ran off. Sonic sat down and sighed. He wanted to remember his past soon. Trying to force himself wasn't going to do any good, but knowing why he'd been under that curse might help with something. Hopefully the books could help, if Shadow could translate them.


	10. A Man Named Mephiles

Chapter 10: A Man Named Mephiles  


Shadow opened the first book and started reading, skimming over everything that wasn't helpful. He had just got back from feeding, and wasn't going to for a few more days. He came to the section about curses and began to read. The first book didn't have anything helpful. The second was marginally better, at least touching on curses that induced sleep. But still nothing too helpful. By the time he reached the fourth, Shadow was starting to think whoever had cursed Sonic could have mixed curses to achieve what had happened.

He sighed and closed the book, holding his head in his hands. If he could find out who had cursed Sonic, that would help a lot. It obviously had to be someone powerful. And capable of magic...something like that would be hard to find information on. He stood up and went into Dracula's room.

"Have you ever heard of anyone powerful in magic during the time you've been alive?" He asked.

"A few." Dracula looked over at Shadow. "Does this have something to do with Sonic?"

"It does. He was cursed in a deep sleep by someone. A cave paining had Sonic being cursed by some hedgehog with crystals all over his body."

Dracula faltered and looked over at Shadow, eyes wide. "A hedgehog covered in crystals? I may know who you are talking about."

"Really? Who?" Shadow asked the hedgehog.

"Someone by the name of Mephiles... I didn't know him long, but he was rumored to be much more powerful before I had ever met him."

"Mephiles? Interesting...I've never heard of him. Is he a vampire?"

"No."

"Then what is he?" Shadow asked.

"I honestly can't say."

"Huh. Is he immortal?"

"The possibility is certainly there."

Shadow smiled. "Thanks for the information."

Dracula smiled back, then walked up to Shadow and kissed him. Shadow smiled and kissed Dracula back, pulling away a few moments later.

"I should get back to my reading."

He walked out of the room and went into his own. Sonic looked up at him. "Hey, Shads. Did you find out anything?"

"A bit..."

"Like what?"

"The books so far didn't have anything terribly helpful. Just a bunch of curses that didn't quite fit what happened with you. Dracula thinks the crystal hedgehog in the painting might be someone named Mephiles."

"Mephiles?" Sonic looked at him. "That name sounds...familiar."

"Then we should try to find anything that mentions that name."

"That would help. Thanks." Shadow smiled. Sonic smiled back. "I appreciate it."

"Guess I should revisit those books now."

"Go ahead."

Shadow gave Sonic a small smile and walked off to take another look through the books.


	11. Maria

Chapter 11: Maria

When he got to the library, he saw Ivan reading a book. Ivan looked up as he came in and smiled.

"Getting back to your reading?"

"Yeah," Shadow said, sitting down across from him and picking up a book. "You?"

"I'm still trying to get into this book again."

"Haven't seen you read in a while."

"I lost interest in it for a while."

"How's Tails doing?" Shadow asked as he flipped through his book.

"You could ask Tails if you're curious," Ivan chuckled. "We've both been doing well."

"That's nice." He closed the book after a few minutes and looked at Ivan. "Why doesn't Tails like me?"

"What happened with Maria. Tails still blames you."

"Of course he does," Shadow muttered. "Do you?"

"A little." Ivan looked up from the page and sighed. "I have no idea how it happened; what did you expect me to say? But Dracula forgives you and that's all that matters."

Shadow was silent for a moment. "I didn't kill her on purpose."

"We know."

"If you know, then why do you and Tails still blame me?"

"Because we didn't see how it happened, Shadow." Ivan sighed and closed his book. "Blaming you doesn't necessarily mean we think you meant for it to happen. There isn't a reason in the world I can think of why you would want to kill her."

Shadow was silent for a moment. Then he stood up, tossed the book on the floor, and left the room.

"Shadow!" Ivan ran out of the room and up to Shadow, who turned around and glared at him. "If you want to talk about this, you can't leave in the middle of the conversation," Ivan said.

"You and Tails don't want me around," Shadow said, tears in his eyes.

"That's not what I said at all."

Shadow sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry," he said.

Ivan sighed as well. "We should talk about this, Shadow. It'll just get worse if we don't."

Shadow hesitated, but nodded. "All right...I guess we can."

"Where do you want to start?"

Ivan started walking down the hall with Shadow, in the direction of one of the balconies. Some outside air might help them.

When they reached the balcony, Shadow spoke. "Can we talk to Tails about this?"

"I can go get him if you want."

Shadow nodded, and Ivan ran off. A few minutes later he came back with Tails. The fox saw Shadow and crossed his arms.

"What?" Tails asked.

"We're going to talk," Ivan said. "It's long overdue."

"About what?"

"Maria."

Tails looked at his boyfriend, then to Shadow. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

"I already asked Ivan, so... Why do you blame me for what happened?" Shadow asked.

"Because I saw you standing over her body with a bloody cross in your hand. To me, that made it look like you killed her."

"So you felt like going by assumptions instead of asking what happened?"

"Basically. We saw you standing over her dead body, Shadow. What were we supposed to think?"

"You could've _asked what happened_ ," Shadow snarled. "Instead of assuming things and running off to get Dracula."

"Well, what did happen?" Tails yelled.

"We were playing around on the cliff. Maria got too close to edge and some of the rock crumbled under her. I tried to grab her, but I had the wrong angle..." Shadow paused for a moment to take a breath. Even after all this time, it still hurt to remember. "Her hand slipped out of mine and she fell before I could pull her up. You know how well gravity does its job."

Tails was silent for a minute.

"I don't believe you," he finally said.

"Tails..." Ivan started.

"Because it doesn't fit what you want to think?" Shadow clenched his fists at his sides, glaring at Tails. "What is your problem with me?" Tails didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked away. Shadow looked at Ivan. "Tell me you know what the hell his problem is."

Ivan watched his boyfriend walk away, and then looked at Shadow. "He told me a few weeks ago that he doesn't like you because, and I quote, 'He's weird. He's hardly ever social, and doesn't talk to us much... There's something wrong with him, and he's crazy.' "

Shadow scoffed. "I used to be social... But why would I want to talk to people who hate me? Maybe he should take a look at his own actions before deciding there's something wrong with me."

"I don't hate you."

"I know that now."

Ivan sighed. "I'm sorry about my boyfriend. I'll go talk to him and try to clear this up."

Shadow nodded. Ivan smiled and walked away to find Tails. Shadow sighed and went back to his room.


	12. A Night To Themselves

Chapter 12: A Night To Themselves  


Letting himself fall into the bed, Shadow tried not to think too hard about what Tails had said. He yawned and looked out the window. Dawn would be here soon. He could think about everything later. Shadow yawned and fell asleep.

When he woke a few hours later, the first thing he saw was Sonic's green eyes.

"Finally got you up!" Sonic sat back as Shadow half-glared at him, weight pressing him against Shadow's hips.

"Were you waiting for me to wake?" Shadow asked.

"Yep."

Shadow sighed and got out of bed. "What have you been doing?"

"I slept for a while, then tried looking at the books myself. Nothing made much sense though, and I got bored of it pretty quick."

"Do you get bored often?"

"Depends what I'm doing."

"I see."

Sonic smiled. "Now that you're up, let's go do something."

The blue hedgehog walked out of the room, and Shadow followed. "Any ideas?"

"Nothing much." Sonic turned and looked at him. "Could you show me around the castle? There's still a lot I haven't seen yet."

"Sure," Shadow said. "What do you want to see?"

"Everything I haven't seen. The basement. Most of the upper floors. Maybe play around in the ballroom."

A smile came to Shadow's face. "Let's go to the ballroom."

"Right now?"

"If you want."

Sonic grinned and grabbed Shadow's hand, pulling him to the ballroom. When they got there, they looked around. Sonic looked at the vampire. "Shall we dance?"

"With or without music?"

"Depends what kind of music there is."

"I'm sure we have something to fit dancing in a ballroom."

Sonic smiled. "Music it is, then."

Shadow went to the end of the room and saw some records. He looked through them, then placed one on the phonograph. Shadow laughed once the music started, walking over and taking Sonic's hand. Sonic smiled, and they began to dance.

"You're pretty good," Sonic said as they danced.

"I've had years to practice."

Sonic smiled. A few minutes later, Ivan and Tails walked in.

"I thought I heard music," Ivan said. "Mind if we join the party?"

"Go ahead," Shadow said with a laugh. "I don't mind." He looked at Sonic. "Do you?"

"Of course not."

Ivan smiled and started dancing with Tails. Shadow and Sonic continued their dance as well.

When they were finished, Sonic smiled. "That was fun."

"You know dancing better than I had expected."

The blue hedgehog chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I'm just a fast learner."

Shadow smiled. "Come on; let me show you the rest of the castle."

He walked off, hand-in-hand with Sonic.

Ivan looked at Tails. "Do you think they're falling for each other?"

"Probably."

"What about Dracula? He has a crush on Shadow."

"Maybe they can work something out."

Tails shrugged, and continued to dance with his boyfriend. Sonic looked around as Shadow led him through everything he hadn't seen yet. When they got back to the room, Dracula was waiting for them.

"Hey, Dracula," Sonic said.

"Good evening," Dracula said.

"Is there anything you wanted?" Shadow asked. Dracula looked at Shadow with lust in his eyes. He smirked, showing his fangs, and nodded. "What is it?"

Dracula walked up to Shadow. "I'd like to spend some time with you...alone."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Sonic."

Sonic smiled as Dracula led Shadow to his room. The elder vampire closed the door, locking it. He walked up to Shadow and started to kiss him. Shadow's eyes widened, but he deepened the kiss.

"I love you, Shadow," Dracula said in between kisses.

"Love you too..."

The two moved onto the bed, kissing even more. Dracula moved his hands down Shadow, exploring his body. He smiled and whispered into Shadow's ear.

"Make love to me."

Shadow nodded and wrapped his arms up around Dracula's neck, pulling him down into another kiss.


	13. Demons

Chapter 13: Demons

An hour later, Shadow came back to his room. He was blushing madly and was thinking about what he and Dracula did. It had been so steamy, and he enjoyed it.

"Heya Shadow. What's got you all embarrassed?"

Sonic was lying across the bed, flat on his stomach and with a grin on his face.

"Oh, it's...uh..." Sonic's grin widened and he pushed himself off the bed. He walked up to Shadow and pushed him against the wall. "What're you doing?" Shadow asked.

Sonic smirked. "What does it look like?" He asked, and began to kiss the vampire passionately.

Placing both hands on Sonic's chest and lightly pushing him back, Shadow stared at the blue hedgehog in surprise. "What are you doing that for?"

Sonic hesitated, then hung his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I...I have feelings for you."

"I see." Sonic sat down on the bed and sighed. Shadow sat beside him, wondering what to say. He was already in love with Vlad. "This is complicated. I do love you, Sonic."

"You do?" Sonic asked.

Shadow nodded. "But I also love Dracula."

"Oh." Sonic frowned. "Is that where you were tonight? With Dracula?"

Shadow nodded again, wondering if he should tell Sonic that he and Dracula had made love. "I guess I'll just... leave you alone about it then." Shadow walked out of the room, walking into Dracula's. He sighed and looked at the other vampire. "Sonic just told me that he has feelings for me."

"How do you feel about it?" Vlad asked.

"I...I think I feel the same. But...I'm also in love with you. What do you suggest I do, Vlad?"

"The three of us could have a relationship of sorts. It's not as if Sonic and I hate each other."

Shadow blinked. "You mean...a threesome?"

"If it comes to that, I would have no objections. But there's no need to rush things." Dracula smiled. "I'll talk to Sonic about this."

He walked out of the room and into Shadow's, but Sonic wasn't there. Instantly, he and Shadow heard a scream coming from the library. Both of them ran to the library. Sonic was there, staring in shock at multiple demons surrounding him.

"What are demons doing here?" Dracula demanded.

"Sorry," Sonic said. "I was looking through your books and found a Latin phrase that sounded familiar to me. I said it, and these three demons appeared. Apparently they're under my command."

Vlad looked at Sonic curiously. Only someone with powerful magic would be able to do that. "You must have some powerful magic coursing through your body."

"Really?"

"No one else would be able to summon and control demons."

Sonic looked at the demons, then back to Dracula. "What should I do?"

"Give them an order."

Sonic blinked and looked at the demons. "Um...bow." The demons all bowed, some lower than others. "Okay. Now...speak."

The demons looked at him, then each other. One of the taller ones spoke after a few moments. "What do you wish to hear, Master?"

"Do you know who cursed me?" Sonic asked.

"Cursed you?" Sonic explained what happened to him, and the demon thought about it. "I know a few others that would be powerful enough to use such a curse."

"Who?" Sonic asked.

"Mephiles, Fiona, Luna, and Dave."

"Can you tell me about Mephiles?" Sonic asked. "Shadow said that he was on that cave painting."

"There's not much I know about him besides how powerful he is... The strongest tend to be loners, and only really interact with each other."

"How powerful is he?"

"Nearly on par with that of a god. All four of them are."

Sonic frowned. "So he must have been the one who cursed me. Is he immortal?"

"He's still alive, if that's what you're asking."

"I take it he's a demon?"

"Of course. I thought you knew that already."

Sonic nodded. "All right. Thanks for the information." The demon smiled. Sonic looked at Dracula. "Um...what should I do now? Should I let them stay, or what?"

"They're your demons." Dracula shrugged. "As long as you don't allow them to cause any problems, I don't care what you do with them."

Sonic looked at the demons. "You can stay here in the castle. Just make sure not to cause trouble."

"Of course, Master," one of the demons said.

The demons turned into anthros, and Sonic blinked. "You can change shape?"

"Of course. How else would we fit in when we come to the mortal world?"

"What are your names?"

The green hedgehog smiled. "My name in Scourge. This is Nazo," he pointed to the silver hedgehog. "And the echinda is Finitevus."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Sonic. Is there anything I should know about the three of you?"

The three looked at each other, then back at Sonic. Nazo walked forward and spoke.

"I'm one of the lesser demons," he said. "I'm made out of negative Chaos. Most demons I report to are the more powerful ones like Mephiles."

"What about you two?"

"I'm in the middle," Finitevus told Sonic. "I report to both higher and lesser demons."

Scourge spoke next. "And I'm a higher demon. I don't report to anyone."

"Interesting," Sonic said.

"All three of us are now your servants."

"Cool. Feel free to look around." The demons nodded and left the room. "So now I have demons under my control," Sonic muttered.

"Be careful how you use them," Dracula said. "Also, I wanted to talk to you about something. I understand you're in love with Shadow."

"I am."

"And he is in love with me as well as you, so this is what I propose: we all have a relationship together."

"Together? I suppose we could at least give it a try."

Dracula smiled. Then he walked up and kissed Sonic. Sonic's eyes widened and he moved back from Dracula.

"Um...who'd you do that?" He asked.

"If we're going to be in a relationship, we might as well at least kiss."

Sonic smiled and kissed him back. "Sorry. I was just surprised."

"Let's tell Shadow that this might work after all."

The blue hedgehog smiled and walked to Shadow's room. Shadow was sitting in the bed, reading a book. He looked up when Sonic and Dracula came in. "Did you talk about it?"

"We did," Sonic said. "Dracula and I decided it would work."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

A smile came to Shadow's face. He stood up and walked over to Sonic and Dracula, hugging them. "I'm glad to hear that."

Dracula smiled as Shadow kissed them, then backed away.

"I think this will work out nicely," Dracula said.

"Looks good so far," Sonic said.

Shadow smiled and looked at Sonic. "What are you going to do about your demons?"

"Use them I guess. I should find a way to send them back though."

"Maybe they can help you remember what happened to you."

"You think so?"

"It's worth a shot," Dracula told him.

Sonic smiled. "Guess I'll see what they know sometime."

He walked out of the room to find Scourge.


	14. Finitevus And Scourge

Chapter 14: Finitevus And Scourge

When Sonic found Scourge, the green hedgehog was looking through the books in the library with a disinterested expression on his face.

"What are you doing, Scourge?" Sonic asked.

"Browsing."

The blue hedgehog sat down next to him. "I was wondering...do you think you and the others could help me remember my past?"

"Maybe."

"Good."

Scourge smiled. "You have amnesia, then?"

"Yeah," Sonic said.

"Not sure how much we can help... You were asking about Mephiles earlier... Have you had much interaction with demons?" Sonic shook his head. "You summoned us pretty easily though. Maybe that's one of the things you've forgotten. What have you figured out so far?"

"Not much. Dracula said that I have powerful magic in my body. I was a forest spirit for a while when I was cursed."

"That's it?" Scourge shook his head. "I've never met you before, so I can't tell you any more than what you know."

Sonic sighed and hung his head. "I would like to remember my past and why I was cursed."

"Maybe Finitevus will know something."

"Then I'll ask him. Thanks, Scourge."

Scourge smiled and walked out with Sonic. "So, you been with these bloodsuckers long?"

"Just a few weeks," Sonic said. "What do demons think of vampires?"

"They're a lot like us, but we don't really have much to do with them. Personally, I don't care for them one way or another."

"Are any other mythical creatures besides demons and vampires real?"

"Mythical creatures?"

"Werewolves, dragons, stuff like that." Sonic said.

"Of course they exist. In hiding."

"Cool."

Scourge smiled and they eventually found Finitevus.

"Hey, Finitevus," Scourge said. "Master here wants to ask you something."

"What is it, Master?" The echidna asked Sonic.

"I was hoping you guys could help me get my memories back," Sonic asked.

"Sure," Finitevus said. "We could help."

"Have we ever met before?"

The echidna studied him, and then nodded. "We have. It was long ago."

"Really? When? What was I like?"

"It was in the Middle Ages, in the year 510 A.D. You were a powerful sorcerer who helped people. We met on the island of Avalon."

"Avalon?"

"It's an island in the ocean, not far from the kingdom of Camelot."

"That was real?"

The echidna nodded. "Of course. You lived in it."

"Woah." Sonic grinned at Finitevus. "That's awesome. Now I wish I remembered."

"I'm sure you'll remember in time."

"I hope so. What was I like back then?"

"Kind, well respected."

"And?"

Finitevus smiled. "Powerful."

"And? You haven't really told me what my personality was like."

"Kind, arrogant. You were always joking around, and...you were pretty handsome."

"Were? I still am."

Finitevus chuckled. "So, what do you think of the vampires?"

"I like them."

"That's good."

"They're all great people from what I've seen."

The echidna smiled. "Vampires are interesting creatures."

"What do you know about them?"

"Not much. They're a lot like demons."

"How so?" Sonic asked.

"They're interesting creatures, almost as old as demons."

"Interesting how?"

"Interesting because they're creatures of the night."

"Wouldn't demons be creatures of the night too?"

"You could say that."

Sonic smiled and looked at Scourge. "This is pretty neat."

The green hedgehog smiled. "Have you met Nazo?"

"Not yet."

"Let's go see him, then."

Sonic nodded and the three went to find Nazo. Nazo was in the dining room, leaning with his right elbow on the table as he ate. He looked up as they walked in and smiled.

"Greetings," he told them. "Dracula and I were just talking." He looked at Vlad and offered him some wine.

Vlad smiled. "I never drink...wine."

"Then what do you drink?"

"Blood."

"You never have anything else? It's not like it'd kill you."

"Can vampires drink and eat normal food?" Sonic asked Dracula as he sat beside Nazo, looking at him.

"If we really wanted to. There's just no need for it," Dracula told him.

Sonic smiled and looked at Nazo. "I don't believe we've met before."

"You know my name at least."

"Nazo, right?"

The white hedgehog nodded. "Yep."

"Nice to meet you," Sonic said as he shook Nazo's hand. "I'm Sonic, but you probably know that already."

"So, have you ever used magic before?" Nazo asked.

"Not that I can remember."

"I see. Did you talk to Finitevus?"

"I did."

"What did he say?" Dracula asked.

"We've apparently met before."

"You did? That's interesting."

"I thought so too."

"Where did you two meet?" Dracula asked.

"Avalon."

"Avalon? Isn't that part of Camelot?" Nazo asked.

"Yep."

Nazo blinked. "How old are you?"

"No idea."

"But...if you're from Camelot...that means you're from the Middle Ages."

"I was put under some kind of spell." Sonic shrugged. "I don't remember anything anyway."

Nazo smiled. "Then we'll help you."

"I was hoping for that."

"We should probably start by wondering why you were cursed," Scourge said.

"Yeah. Maybe Finitevus would have an idea? He knew me back then at least."

"I could think of some things," the echidna said as he walked in the room.

"Like what?"

"You're a powerful sorcerer. Maybe Mephiles wanted you out of the way."

"Out of the way?"

Scourge looked at him. "When you say out of the way...do you mean killed?"

The echidna nodded. "Most likely. But then, I've never understood Mephiles."

Sonic sighed and put his head in his hands, trying to figure it out. "So he might've wanted me out of the way for something. But if that's true, it would've been easier for him to just kill me."

"Maybe he tried to," Dracula said.

"And just failed?"

"Possibly."

Scourge walked over to Sonic and placed a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes. "I can sense something," the demon said. "You are immortal, but not at the same time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonic asked.

"You age, but slowly."

"How slowly?"

"Twice as slow as humans. You are centuries old."

"So what, I'm just going to start aging again?" Sonic looked at himself. "Even with slower aging, shouldn't I be old by now?"

"The sleep stopped your aging," Scourge said.

"Oh. I think I get it."

The green hedgehog smiled. "Good."

Sonic sighed and his stomach growled. He looked at Dracula. "Do you have anything to eat?"

"We do."

The vampire stood up and went into the kitchen. Sonic followed him.


	15. A Walk In The Forest

Chapter 15: A Walk In The Forest

Dracula showed Sonic where everything was.

"Thanks, Drac," Sonic said as he got out some food

"Did you just call me Drac?"

"Is that okay?"

"It just surprised me... Do you often give nicknames to people?"

"Yeah. I call Shadow 'Shads'."

"I see. Well, try not to do it too often."

"Sorry," Sonic said again. "Do you not like it?"

"I'm not used to having nicknames."

"All right. I won't give you a nickname, then."

Dracula smiled. "You can call me Vlad, though," he said. "It's my first name."

"Vlad, huh." Sonic thought it over and smiled. "I'll use that then."

"So, when did you start to have feelings for Shadow?"

"A while ago I think." Sonic shrugged. "Not sure when they started."

"I started having feelings for Shadow a few years after my wife died," Vlad said.

"How long ago was that?"

"A few centuries ago."

Sonic smiled. "Do you think this three way relationship between me, you and Shadow will work?"

"I have high hopes for it."

"Good. I hope it'll work too."

Dracula smiled and saw Ivan, Tails and Shadow walk into the room.

"Hey," Ivan said. "What are you talking about?"

"Relationship things," Dracula said.

"Who are these people?" Tails asked, motioning to Nazo, Fintervus and Scourge.

"Demons. Sonic inadvertently summoned them here."

"You summoned demons?" Ivan asked, looking at Sonic. "Impressive."

"Thanks," Sonic said.

Ivan smiled. "What are your names?" He asked the demons.

Each demon introduced themselves.

"It's nice to meet you, Ivan," Scourge said, bowing slightly.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Ivan said.

"What's your name?"

"My name's Ivan. This is Tails."

Scourge smiled and looked at Tails.

"Are you two related to Dracula?" Scourge asked.

"We're both part of his family."

"That's nice."

"Do you have any family?"

"Just the other demons," Scourge said.

"So you're related?"

"Yeah."

"Just the three of you, or are there others you're related to?"

"Just us," Scourge said.

"How do you and the others like being anthros?" Ivan asked.

"I like it," Scourge said. "Not sure about the others."

"What are you talking about?" Fintervus asked as he walked up.

"Being an anthro," Scourge said.

The echidna smiled. "I enjoy it."

"What do you like about it?" Sonic asked.

"It's an interesting experience."

"I just think it's nice to be in a different body again," Scourge said.

"There are so many differences when I'm in another body. I love figuring them out. Keeps me entertained."

Sonic smiled. "It sounds fun."

"Oh, it is."

Shadow looked at the demons. "Would you like a tour of the castle or village?"

"I'm good," Scourge said.

"Maybe later," Nazo said. "We'd like to get used to the castle first."

"All right."

The three demons walked off.

"This is going to be interesting," Shadow said.

"I agree," Ivan said, watching the demons leave.

A few days passed, and Sonic was heading to Dracula's room. He had been having bad dreams about Mephiles, and wondered why he was having them.

"Hey Vlad," he asked when he walked into the room. "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course."

"I've been having nightmares the past few days. Of Mephiles."

"Are you sure it's Mephiles?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. It's creepy. He always says that he's coming for me and has to fulfill some sort of deal."

"He is a demon. If he's mentioning a deal, you must have made one with him." Dracula sighed. "But you don't have any idea what that might have been, do you?"

"No, I don't...what should I do?"

"The only thing we can do is try to get your memory back. And wait for Mephiles, I suppose. Hope we can handle him."

"Any ideas on how I could get it back?"

"Getting memory back is a tricky thing."

Sonic sighed. Vlad smiled, then walked up and kissed him. "I'll do everything I can to help."

The blue hedgehog smiled, then wrapped his arms around Dracula, kissing him back. "I hope so."

The door opened and Shadow walked in. He looked at them, clearing his throat. They pulled apart and looked at him.

"I...um...came to see you, Vlad, but I see you're busy. I'll come back later."

He turned to leave but Vlad put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "It's fine. What is it?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me."

"Sure."

"Would you like to come too, Sonic?" Shadow asked.

"If you don't mind."

Shadow smiled and held Dracula's hand as the two walked out of the room. Sonic followed them.

"Where did you want to take a walk?" Dracula asked.

"The forest," Shadow said.

The three of them went out to the forest. Dracula looked around and smiled. "I've always enjoyed this place."

"It is a nice forest," Sonic said.

"What did you do here as a spirit, Sonic?"

"Not much. Wandered around, checked on things, stuff like that."

"Did you like being a forest spirit?" Shadow asked.

"It wasn't bad."

"Can you still become one? Since you have magic, you might be able to."

Sonic shrugged; he wasn't sure. "I might be able to, but haven't tried it."

"You wanna try it?" Dracula asked.

Sonic thought about it. He could try. "I guess I could."

He closed his eyes, willing himself to change. A few seconds later he felt something happen. His form changed, becoming a blue orb. It hovered above them, glowing.

"You did it," Dracula said.

 _I did,_ Sonic's voice said in their heads. _This is incredible. I can see your auras._

"What do they look like?"

 _Shadow's is a red aura, and yours is black._

"Is there anything else different that you can see?"

 _Plenty,_ the forest spirit said. _I can see everything that's connected to this forest._

"That sounds amazing," Shadow said.

The blue orb glowed and turned back into Sonic. He smiled at the two vampires. "I'll have to try that again sometime. Apparently I can still see everything I could in my spirit form."

"Might be helpful at times," Dracula said.

Sonic smiled. "What should we do now?"

"Continue our walk." Dracula looked at Shadow. "Was there anything in particular you wanted to do out here?"

"Not really." He looked at Sonic. "You?'

"Nope."

"We could just finish our walk, then," Shadow told Dracula, and the three walked off.


	16. A Sorcerer's Power

Chapter 16: A Sorcerer's Power

When they got back, Sonic asked Finitevus what powers he had. The echidna told him that he had shapeshifting abilities, could summon and control animals as well as other creatures, and could use something called Chaos Energy.

Sonic thanked him and went to see Shadow.

"Hey Shadow," Sonic said. "You think you can help me practice my magic?"

"Sure," Shadow said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Not sure."

"What did Fintievus tell you?"

"He said I could use something called Chaos Energy. Do you know what that is?"

Shadow thought about it, then nodded. "I do. It's the energy that makes up our world."

"It is?" Sonic asked. "Wow. And I can use it?"

"You're a sorcerer. All true wielders of magic can manipulate Chaos Energy."

"Can your or any of the other people here use it?"

"All vampires can to some degree."

"Cool. Oh, Fintievus also told me that I can summon and control animals, and other creatures, and shapeshift," Sonic said.

"Well, we know you can summon and control demons. So... Anything less powerful than that should be fair game, I think."

Sonic nodded. "I don't think I'll use my shapeshifting powers that much, unless I need to. Don't see any reason to change my form, unless it's back to the spirit one. So, think you can help me practice?"

"I can try. There's only so much I can do with your memories gone."

"Okay."

Shadow smiled and kissed him. 'We'll figure it out."

Sonic kissed him back. "I hope so."

The vampire chuckled. "Do you have any powers as a spirit besides seeing people's aura?"

"I don't think so. I might be able to do something with nature, but..." Sonic trailed off with a shrug. "I never really felt anything over the centuries."

"Interesting...Are you able to see the future at all?" Shadow asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Don't think so. I've never been able to do that."

"Hm. So, when do you want me to start helping you practice?"

"As soon as we can."

"We could start now," Shadow said.

"All right. What do I have to do?"

"Concentrate on one of your powers."

"Which one?"

"How about summoning creatures?" Shadow asked.

"Okay. Something small?"

"Sure. Maybe a bird?"

"A bird... All right. How do I do this?"

Shadow shrugged. "Maybe concentrate on the magic energy inside you?"

"Would you happen to know what that would feel like?"

"The Chaos Energy will well up inside you."

"So...Kind of like when I feel nauseous, but not as if I'm going to throw up?"

"Yeah," Shadow said.

"Okay. I'll give it a try."

Sonic closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt something well up inside him and a gold aura surrounded him. Sonic imagined calling a bird to him. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and frowned.

"Nothing happened."

Shadow sighed. A few minutes later, he saw a mist on the ground. "What's that?"

"Looks like mist or something."

The mist formed into a bird and flew onto Sonic's shoulder.

"Looks like it worked after all," Shadow said.

Sonic smiled, petting the bird. "Guess so. Now what?"

"Try sending it away. It's a creature you pulled from... Wherever, so you should be able to send it back." The blue hedgehog concentrated, and the bird vanished. "Good job," Shadow said.

Sonic smiled. "Thanks. Anything else I should do?"

"Practice that for now. You should take this slow. Don't want to rush into things and mess something up."

"All right," Sonic and continued to practice. After a half hour of practice, he stopped. "That wasn't so difficult," he told Shadow.

"Well, you have done it before."

Sonic smiled. "What should we do now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Can you show me your wolf form? I haven't seen it."

"Wolf form?"

"Can't vampires turn into wolves?" Sonic asked Shadow. "You told me you could become a bat, along with a wolf."

Shadow nodded, remembering. "I don't like doing it," Shadow said. "But I suppose I can show it to you."

Sonic smiled. Shadow concentrated and began to transform. A few minutes later, a large black and red wolf was in his place, standing on all fours. Sonic's eyes widened.

"That's awesome," he said. Shadow grinned and wagged his tail, taking that as a compliment. "Can the others do this too?" The wolf nodded. He walked up to Sonic and licked him. Sonic blinked and smiled, scratching Shadow behind the ear. "You think they'll let me see their's sometime?" Again, Shadow nodded. "Cool."

Shadow smiled and changed back. "Did you want to see the rest of them now or wait until later?"

"I'd like to see them now," Sonic said. "If that's okay with them."

"I'll go ask."

Shadow left the room and came back a few minutes later with Vlad, Ivan, Tails and Dracula. "They've agreed to do it," he said.

"Awesome," Sonic said.

Dracula grinned. "Maybe after this, I can show you my other forms," he said. "I'm actually a shapeshifter." He looked at Tails and Ivan. "Who wants to go first?"

"Why don't you all do it at the same time?" Shadow suggested.

The three smiled, and transformed into wolves.

"You all look great," Sonic said. They wagged their tails. Dracula walked up to Sonic and licked him, then changed back. "You said you could shapeshift?" Sonic asked Dracula, who nodded. He could turn into anything, but he mostly became animals.

"I usually just take on the form of animals."

"Cool. Can you show me?"

"I suppose so."

He walked out of the room and headed outside. Sonic and the others followed him. Once Dracula had enough room, he smiled and transformed into a giant black dragon.


	17. Shapeshifting

Chapter 17: Shapeshifting

Sonic stared up at him and smiled. "That's amazing! I didn't know vampires could do that!"

 _They can't,_ Vlad said telepathically. _Only I can._ He flapped his wings. _Anyone want go for a flight?_

"Yeah." Sonic ran up to him. The dragon lay down, allowing Sonic to get on. He looked at the other vampires. "Anyone else?"

"You have fun," Shadow said. "It isn't every day you get to ride a dragon."

Sonic grinned. Before Vlad could take off, Fintervius, Nazo and Enerjak walked up. "Mind if we come?"

"Nah."

The three demons got on the dragon's back, and Vlad took off. He flew high above the trees, and the four got a good look at the forest.

"I didn't realize it was that big," Sonic said.

Dracula smiled. _Sometimes I come into the forest and spend time exploring it as a bear._

"You can turn into a bear?" Sonic asked in confusion.

 _I can change into anything. I can shapeshift, but I mostly take the forms of animals._

"I thought vampires could only change into bats, wolves and mist," Sonic said. "How is it you can become other animals?"

 _Chaos granted me the power._

"Who's Chaos?" Sonic asked.

 _More or less a god. He gave me the power of shapeshifting centuries ago when I asked, begged really, for assistance in a war._

"What war was it?"

 _That's not important,_ Dracula growled.

"Sorry," Sonic said. "How long have you been a vampire?"

 _A very long time._

"Cool."

The dragon smiled and landed in a field. _This looks like a good place to take a break,_ he said.

He smiled and let his passengers off, then lay down.

"What're you laying down for?" Sonic asked.

 _I'm relaxing,_ Dracula said.

"All right then. I'm going to take a look around."

The dragon chuckled as Sonic walked away. He put his head on his paws, closed his eyes and went to sleep. Nazo, Enerjak and Fintiverus followed Sonic as he walked through the field, looking around.

"How far should we go?" Sonic asked the demons.

Enerjak scanned the area. "There's a cliff up ahead," he said. "Let's heard there and then stop."

Sonic nodded in agreement and started off. The four anthros reached the cliffside in a few minutes. They looked down and saw a wonderful view of the ocean.

"Wow," Nazo said. "That's incredible."

Sonic shuddered and moved back from the cliff. "Yeah, sure."

"What's wrong, Master?"

"I don't like water. Not that much of it in one place, anyway."

"We can go somewhere else if you're uncomfortable."

"Nah, it's fine."

"I sensed something different about Vlad when he transformed," Enerjak said. "He has godly energy surrounding him."

"Because a god gave him the ability?"

"No, not that. It was as if Chaos was taking his form. I think Dracula might actually be Chaos. Or hs, at least, merged with the god."

"Oh come on, Enerjak. He's a really powerful, ancient vampire. That's probably all you're feeling."

The echidna shrugged. "I'll ask him later."

Sonic looked up at the clouds. "Want to explore some more,or should we head back?" He asked.

"I wouldn't mind exploring some more," Scourge said.

"Same here," Nazo said.

"Then let's stay out longer," Sonic said.

"Where should we go?"

"Just wander around."

As they walked, a shadow passed overhead. They looked up to see Vlad, still a dragon, flying through the air

Scourge smiled. "Looks like Vlad's enjoying himself as well."

They watched the dragon fly off, heading towards the mountains ahead.

"Guess that's where we're going," Sonic said.

He sped off. The demons blinked in surprise and followed their master. It didn't take long for them to reach the mountains. They saw Dracula descend, changing into a mountain lion mid air and landing on the rock perfectly on all fours.

"That was pretty amazing." Sonic whistled.

The mountain lion roared.

"Come on, guys." Sonic called back to the others.

The demons hurried up the mountain. Sonic looked around as he climbed, taking in the views and nature around him. He looked at the mountain lion that was Vlad. The big cat was prowling the mountain area.

"What should we do while we're here, guys?" Sonic asked.

"Can we climb the mountain?" Enerjak asked.

"Of course we can climb the mountain."

Enerjak grinned and started climbing. The other demons did too. Sonic looked back at the mountain lion.

"You going to come with us or do your own thing?"

Vlad thought about it. He smiled and ran towards another part of the mountain. Sonic laughed, and started to climb.


	18. The Werewolf

Chapter 18: The Werewolf

While the others were in the mountains, Tails noticed something off outside the window. He set down the book he'd been reading and opened the window to lean out and pay closer attention. Some sort of animal was in the trees, looking at him.

"What the...a wolf?" Tails asked himself.

He moved back and closed the window. There hadn't been a wolf in the forest for a few years. They could just be moving back in, but...Tails left the room to find Ivan and Shadow. If there was a wolf out there, they might have to look into it. Even if it did turn out he was just being paranoid.

"Shadow, Ivan!" He yelled. "I just saw a wolf in the forest!"

"A wolf? Did you see enough of it to know what kind?" Ivan ran over as he asked.

"No," Tails shook his head. "He was at the edge of the forest, staring at me."

"So for all we know it could be a werewolf," Shadow said. "But why would it willingly come so close to a group of vampires?"

"Don't know. We could go in the forest and look for him."

"It would be best to do that before anything happens," Ivan said. "But we should be careful."

Tails smiled and ram out of the castle. Shadow and Ivan followed him into the forest.

"Do you want to split up or stay together?" Shadow asked.

"It would be safer to stay together," Ivan said.

"All right. Let's get looking."

They began to look around the forest for the wolf. After a while they heard a growl. Suddenly a wolf pounced on Tails and bit him. The vampire screamed in pain. Shadow and Ivan got the wolf off Tails and hurried to cover his injury. The wolf growled and looked at Tails.

"We'll be waiting," it said, and ran off.

"That's definitely a werewolf," Shadow said.

Tails grimaced in pain as he tried to stand. The wound was throbbing with pain. A few minute later, however, it started to heal. The vampire's eyes widened.

"Tails?" Ivan asked, concerned. "You okay? You look really pale."

"I feel nauseous."

He turned away and vomited, then fell unconscious. Ivan and Shadow got Tails back inside and laid him in a bed.

"What should we do?" Ivan asked Shadow. "He's been bitten by a werewolf. Will the bite affect him?"

"I'm not sure," Shadow said. "A bite from a werewolf would normally kill a vampire. But if he lives..."

They both looked at Tails, who was still unconscious. Ivan was worried; he didn't want to lose his boyfriend.

"I hope he lives," he said.

"I've heard rumors of vampires that survived being bit by a werewolf," Shadow said. "Whether he adds himself to that number depends on him."

"What happened to the vampires that survived? Were there any side effects?"

"They were more or less the same. Most of the rumors I heard mentioned extra abilities that vampires don't naturally have. Even more indestructible than usual. More vicious around the full moon. That sort of stuff."

"That's interesting. Well, we should probably let Tails rest."

Shadow agreed, and the two left Tails alone. Unfortunately, they didn't notice his body start to change. It was a few hours before Tails opened his eyes and sat up. He tried to stand, but fell forward on all fours. Tails looked around, confused, then looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw shocked him.

His features had changed to look more wolfish.

Tails looked down and saw that his feet were now paws. The hybrid growled angrily. His ears flicked when he heard wolf howls. Something was telling him to go to them. Without warning, he howled back and ran out of the castle.

Shadow looked up from his book in the other room. _The hell was that?_ He thought. _Sounded like a wolf howl coming from Tails' room. But there aren't any wolves in the castle._ Shadow went to Tails' room and sighed when he didn't see him. "Ivan!" He called. "Tails is gone!"

"What?" Ivan ran into the room and looked around in a panic. "Was it that howling we just heard?"

"I think so. We better go look for him."

Shadow changed into a bat and flew out the window, heading for the forest as Ivan followed.


	19. Hybrid

Chapter 19: Hybrid

Tails had no idea where he was going. Simply following his instincts as he ran through the trees. The wolf-like creature followed the howls as he ran swiftly on all fours. Eventually he came to a clearing and saw many wolves. They looked up when they saw him. One wolf walked up to him, and Tails could tell that it was the werewolf Alpha. Tails bowed his head as the alpha came to a stop in front of him.

"Welcome," the Alpha said.

"You were calling to me?"

"I was. You are to be part of my pack."

"I already have a family," Tails said.

The Alpha grinned. "You will soon be a part of mine, Tails. The bite that made you a hybrid has made you loyal to me, and my pack."

"You can't just take me away from my family like that."

"I just did, my pet."

The hybrid growled, ears back. He looked at the Alpha. "What is your name?"

"Mephiles."

"Mephiles...Sonic mentioned that name. Aren't you supposed to be some sort of demon?"

"No, I'm a werewolf. It must be a coincidence."

"Why did you let a werewolf bite me?"

"I didn't let a werewolf bite you. She did that of her own accord."

"She?" Tails asked, cocking his head in confusion.

Another werewolf walked up beside Mephiles. "I'm the one who bit you."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Fiona."

"Why did you bite me, Fiona?"

"I wanted to, and you were such an easy target."

Tails growled and looked at Mephiles. "I assume you want me to stay here?"

"For a while."

"All right. What do you want me to do?"

The Alpha thought about it, then grinned. "For now, get used to living here. You are now a member of my pack, and I would like you to get to know the other wolves."

"Fine."

Mephiles smirked and walked deeper into the forest as Tails and Fiona followed the Alpha.

"How many werewolves are here?" Tails asked. "And how long have you been here without us noticing?"

"There are at least 12 wolves in my pack," Mephiles told him. "We just moved here recently after being driven from our home."

"Despite the fact that this land belongs to vampires?"

"Yes."

The hybrid frowned. "What drove you from your previous home?"

"Humans," the Alpha spat.

"Of course."

Mephiles came to a clearing, and Tails saw many wolves. They looked at the three when they approached, and the Alpha spoke.

"This is Tails," Mephiles said. "He is a new addition to our pack. I expect you to treat him with the same respect you show each other."

The others nodded and Mephiles walked off.

Tails looked at the other wolves, nervous. One walked up and began to sniff him.

"You smell like a vampire," they said.

"I'm a vampire werewolf hybrid," Tails said, hoping that wouldn't make them hate him.

"A hybrid? I didn't even know that was possible."

"I was a...vampire...until Fiona bit me. Now I'm a hybrid."

A wolf looked at him curiously, then walked around the hybrid, sniffing him. He looked more like a wolf than a vampire. Finally the wolf backed away."As long as you don't betray us." Tails nodded and lay down. He put his head on his front paws and yawned. "You're going to bed?"

"I'm tired," Tails said. "Besides, it's almost dawn."

"Oh, right. See you later then."

The wolves walked away and Tails fell asleep.


	20. Mephiles

Chapter 20: Mephiles

Shadow and Ivan still hadn't found Tails by the time the others got back. They had explained the situation to Vlad, who looked worried.

"I'm sure Tails will be back soon," Sonic said. "There's no way he'd just leave us."

"Still, it's strange that werewolves would target him," Dracula said. "Perhaps one of us vampires can spy on them in another form."

"It's your forest, isn't it? Why not just go talk to them?"

"They might attack me. Werewolves and vampires don't really get along very well."

"I could ask Scourge or one of the others to take a look."

Dracula nodded. "That might be best."

"All right. I'll do that." He walked into the other room where the demons were. "Hey," he said. "I wanted to ask if one of you could spy on the werewolves in the forest. Can you shapeshift into any other forms at all?"

"Do we need to?"

"Dracula thought it would be best. That way you won't be detected."

Scourge scoffed. "I'm a demon. I could go wherever I pleased undetected."

"Hm...alright. So you'll spy on them?" Sonic asked.

"I will do as you command, Master," Scourge said, bowing slightly.

"All right. Do that then. Let us know if you see anything interesting."

The green hedgehog nodded, and vanished. He appeared in the forest and looked around. Finding werewolves wouldn't be too hard. Scourge smiled and walked through the forest. Eventually, he saw some wolves up ahead. Creeping forward so he wouldn't be seen, Scourge found a place to hide and watch them. Immediately, he felt a familiar aura and looked around for the source. It was coming from the Alpha.

Scourge watched the alpha for a few minutes. He was talking to Fiona. Something about him felt familiar to Scourge. A few minutes later, Tails came into view and walked up to the Alpha. Scourge looked around as he moved closer until the two werewolves were in hearing range.

"This plan of yours could work," Fiona said. "When do we attack the castle?"

"Not yet," Mephiles said.

We're attacking the castle?" Tails asked. "Why?"

"We aren't attacking the castle." Mephiles looked at Tails. "There are still some things I need to work out."

"Of course, Mephiles...I mean, Alpha."

He bowed and walked away as Fiona followed him. Mephiles was about to follow as well when he sensed something. He snarled and looked in the direction where Scourge was hiding. Scourge moved back with a soft growl of his own.

The Alpha wolf walked forward, sniffing. A grin formed on his snout. "I can sense you, demon," he said. "Where are you hiding?"

Scourge contemplated confronting the alpha but shook his head. He wasn't a werewolf; of that Scourge was certain. But if he really was the Mephiles Scourge thought...

"Very well. Since you won't show yourself, allow me to ask a question: why are you spying on me and my pack?"

"Just curious what's going on." Scourge knew it was flimsy, but it was better than nothing.

A barking laugh came from the Alpha. He swished his tail and his eyes narrowed. "I see...did the vampires put you up to this?"

"That hard to believe a demon got curious why another demon was the alpha of a pack of werewolves?"

"I am not a demon. I am a werewolf."

"I can tell you're a demon."

"I'm not a demon," Mephiles repeated. "Now leave; you have overstayed your welcome. Do not come back."

The wolf turned and walked away. Scourge snorted. If he wanted to keep playing at being a lesser creature, fine. The hedgehog vanished and appeared in the castle before Sonic, bowing.

"The werewolves have a demon as their alpha, though he insists he isn't. And there was something about attacking the castle."

"A demon as the Alpha?" Sonic asked, motioning for Scourge to stand. "Who is it?"

"Tails called him Mephiles."

"Mephiles? He's the one on the cave painting."

"Probably. He was quite insistent on his status as a werewolf."

"Why would he say that?" Enerjak asked.

"Dunno. Trying to hide who he is?"

"Possibly, but why?"

"If it's the Mephiles I think, then he's up to something."

"What does he want with Tails?" Shadow asked as he walked into the room.

"No idea."

"We need to know more...obviously, spying on them won't work anymore."

"What do you mean by that? We can still spy on them."

"But Mephiles knew you were there."

"I can keep my distance." Scourge shrugged.

"If you're sure," Sonic said. Scourge bowed and left. "I'm worried about him. Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Scourge can take care of himself," Enerjak said. "He'll be fine."

"If you say so."

"What's making you worried for him, Master?"

"I just am." Sonic shrugged.

Enerjak nodded as Sonic yawned. He saw Dracula walk up to him and smiled.

"What have you been talking about?" Dracula asked.

"The werewolves. There's a demon named Mephiles with them."

"A demon? That's odd that he would be with werewolves."

"Apparently, he's trying to hide it too. He told Scourge that,he's a werewolf."

"Is this the same Mephiles that cursed you?" Dracula asked Sonic.

"Maybe. I dunno."

"This is a mystery. Is Tails with him?"

"Yeah."

Dracula sighed. "What should we do?"

Sonic shrugged. "Wait a few more days and see what happens?"

"I suppose we could do that."

Sonic smiled and walked up to Dracula. "Tails will be fine."

Dracula smiled and kissed Sonic. "I have faith that he will."

"You think he'll come back soon? Before anything bad happens to him?"

"Hopefully."

Sonic deepened the kiss. Dracula smiled. "Would you join me for a dance in the ballroom?" He asked Sonic.

"I guess. Never been much of a dancer though."

Dracula smiled and led Sonic to the ballroom.


	21. A Plan Of Attack

Chapter 21: A Plan Of Attack  


Sonic looked around as Dracula turned on some music.

"Do you know how to waltz?" He asked Sonic, putting an arm around his waist.

"Never learned how."

"Then I'll teach you."

And they started to dance. Sonic quickly got the hang of it, and was smiling. Dancing was more fun than he'd thought it would be.

"This is fun," he laughed.

Dracula smiled. "You're a quick learner."

Sonic kissed him. "Thanks."

"Maybe we should do this more often."

"I agree."

"But first we need to deal with the werewolves."

"Do you have any ideas?" Sonic asked.

"For now, wait."

"All right."

Dracula smiled. A few minutes later Shadow walked in. "So this is where you two are."

"We were just dancing," Sonic said.

"Dancing, huh. What kind?"

"The waltz."

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Go ahead," Vlad said.

Shadow walked over and took Dracula's place with a smile. He took a few steps, leading Sonic. Shadow kissed him and smiled. "You dance wonderfully."

"Thanks," Sonic said. "So do you."

"Well, my natural grace as a vampire might have something to do with that."

The blue hedgehog chuckled. "Indeed."

Shadow laughed as well and spun Sonic. Sonic faced Shadow, smiling widely. After a while of dancing, they stopped. "That was fun."

"It was," Shadow said. "We should do it again sometime."

Dracula walked up to them, smiling. "The two of you were certainly a sight."

"Thank you, Vlad," Shadow told him.

"You're welcome." Shadow walked up and whispered something in Dracula's ear. Vlad grinned. "You want to have a three-way?"

"What? Right now?" Sonic exclaimed.

"It was Shadow's suggestion," Dracula told Sonic. "If that's okay with you."

"Let's get it on then."

The three walked into Dracula's room. Sonic and Shadow got into bed with Vlad, who looked at them. "How should we do this?" Sonic and Shadow looked at each other and shook their heads. Neither of them were certain how this was supposed to work either. The elder vampire thought about it, then grinned. "How about we take turns screwing each other, or at the same time."

"So... Just wing it?" Shadow asked.

"Yep."

"All right."

When they were finished, Shadow, Sonic and Vlad were grinning wildly.

"That was...amazing," Sonic said.

"It was."

Shadow waved their attention away when they looked at him. "I'm tired," he said. "Do you mind if I sleep with you tonight, Vlad?"

"Of course not."

Sonic cuddled up to the both of them. "I'm staying too."

The three hedgehogs kissed each other, and went to sleep. Ivan opened the door a crack and saw them, then smiled.

"They look so cute together," he said before closing the door.

When Sonic awoke in the morning, he found himself pressed against Shadow with their legs tangled and his hand in the other's quills. Smiling and nuzzling his face into the black fur, Sonic decided it wouldn't hurt to stay there for a while longer. Shadow groaned and looked up. Smiling at Sonic, he stroked his back.

"Morning," Sonic said.

"Hey," Shadow said.

He looked at Dracula and saw the vampire's arm draped over his head, snoring.

"We should be careful not to wake him," Sonic said.

Shadow was about to move Vlad's arm off of his head when he heard a click and looked up to see Ivan holding a camera, taking a picture of them. "What's the picture for?" He asked Ivan.

Ivan grinned. "Memories."

Shadow sat up. "You take pictures often?"

"Sometimes."

Sonic got out of bed and yawned. He looked out the window and saw that it was day. He blinked before looking at Ivan. "I thought vampires were supposed to sleep during the day. Why are you up?"

Ivan chuckled. "I haven't gone to bed yet."

Sonic nodded, and Ivan yawned. "You gonna stay up for a while, Shads?" Sonic asked.

"Perhaps."

The blue hedgehog smiled. "Can vampires stay up during the day at all, or do they have to sleep until night?"

"We can stay up. We just can't go in the sunlight."

"Cool."

Vlad snored loudly, and the two hedgehogs looked at him.

"Does he always do that?" Sonic asked.

"Sometimes," Shadow said.

"Well, hopefully it doesn't get too annoying."

Shadow smiled and they walked out of the room, leaving Dracula to sleep.

"What are we going to do about Tails?" Sonic asked.

"I'm not sure," Shadow said. "We need to find a way to get him back."

"Would Scourge know any advice?" Sonic asked.

"Possibly." Shadow shrugged. "Finitevus might be a better choice, though you never can tell with demons."

"Let's ask Finitevus, then." Sonic left the room in search of Finitevus. "Hey Nazo, do you know where Finitevus is?"

"He's outside," the hedgehog said.

Sonic walked outside and saw the echidna. "Hey, Finitevus. I've got a question for you."

"What is it, Master?" Fivitevus asked.

"You have any suggestions how to get Tails back?"

Finitevus thought about it. "Possibly."

"What are they?"

"You could kidnap him."

"Okay. We could try that."

"Anything else you need?"

"Not at the moment."

"Very well, Master."

The echidna bowed, and Sonic smiled. "Thanks. Now I should go talk to the others." He went back inside and looked around for the other demons. It didn't take him too long to find them. "Hey," Sonic said. "Does anyone have any ideas on how to get Tails back?"

"Take him back," Nazo said.

"Finitevus suggested we kidnap him."

"Perfect."

"When should we do that?" Shadow asked, walking in.

"I say we do it," Sonic said.

"Right now?"

"We need to plan something like that out."

"I agree," Finitevus said, walking into the room. "He'll be protected by the other werewolves, so we need to figure out how to kidnap him."

"Okay. I'll get everyone."

Sonic walked out of the room, coming back with the vampires and other denons minutes later.

"All right, we're all here."

"Great," Shadow said. "Now we just need to figure out how to kidnap Tails."

"Let's put together everything we know about the werewolves."

"What do we know?" Scourge asked.

"You saw them. What can you tell us?"

"They're intelligent creatures. They live in a pack and don't really seem to be a threat. Mostly they follow the orders of the Alpha."

"Can these werewolves change form, or are they permanently wolves?" Sonic asked.

"Of course they can change form. They're werewolves."

"At will?"

"If they've mastered the ability."

"Cool," Sonic said.

Scourge smiled. "Let's hope they haven't. That'll just make them more difficult to deal with."

"Are werewolves immortal too?"

"They are," Dracula said.

"Won't that make it even more difficult to fight them?"

"Immortals can only be killed by other immortals," Shadow said. "And werewolves have weaknesses too, such as silver."

"So... You guys can kill them. Of course, you are vampires."

"Werewolves and vampires have been enemies for centuries."

"That's what I mean. Vampires and werewolves can kill each other no problem, can't they?"

Shadow nodded. "They can," he told Sonic.

"What about Mephiles?" Sonic asked. "Can anything hurt him?"

"Of course. Plenty of things can hurt him."

"Like what?"

"Anything really, if you try hard enough," Scourge said.

"Alright. What should we do?" Sonic asked.

"We should focus on getting Tails back."

"Sounds good. When should we do that?"

"Sometime soon," Dracula said.

"Great," Ivan said. "I want my boyfriend back."

"When do you think would be wisest?"

"How about tomorrow?"

"That works for me."

Everyone else nodded their agreement as well.

"Then we'll do that," Dracula said. He yawned. "For now we should prepare."

The others nodded and left. Sonic, Dracula and Shadow stood in the room.

"So tomorrow we're getting Tails back," Sonic said.

"Hopefully," Shadow said. "We'll make it work."


	22. Rescue Attempt

Chapter 22: Rescue Attempt

"There's Tails," Ivan said. "How should we proceed?"

"We could ambush them," Vlad said.

"Sounds good. How do you want to do it?"

"Take them by surprise."

"We'll split up. You and me will attack the group on the right. Scourge and Nazo will attack the ones on the left."

The werewolves had no idea what happened. They were suddenly being attacked, and had a disadvantage.

"What's happening?" Fiona asked Mephiles.

The Alpha growled and lunged at Dracula, knocking the vampire over. "Why are you attacking my pack, vampire scum?"

"To get Tails back, why else?"

"Tails is mine."

"He isn't yours. He's a member of our family "

"He's a member of this pack now."

"You can't just decide that he's a member of your pack."

"I don't have to. He's already decided."

"Without discussing it with us? Tails wouldn't do that."

"You could say I've influenced him."

Dracula growled at Mephiles. He shifted into a bear and threw Mephiles off of him, then lunged at the werewolf. Before he could land, another werewolf slammed into him. Vlad growled and swiped at the wolf. He got a good look at it and his eyes widened. Even in that form, that was definitely Tails.

 _Tails!_ The bear shouted telepathically. _What are you doing?_

"Trust me," Tails said. "I know what I'm doing here."

 _What are you talking about?_ Vlad dodged another attack.

"I don't need rescued."

 _Have you betrayed us? Ivan is worried about you!_

"I haven't betrayed you."

 _Then why don't you want to come home?_

Vlad roared as Tails pounced on him. Both wolf and bear stared at each other.

"Trust me," Tails repeated.

 _Fine. But at least talk to your boyfriend. He's worried about you._

"I will."

Tails got off of Dracula. The black bear stood up and shook, then looked at the wolf. _What do you think about being a hybrid, Tails?_

"Not used to it yet."

A few minutes later, Ivan walked up and looked at Tails.

"Ivan." Tails smiled.

"Tails," the vampire said. "We've come to take you home."

"I need to stay here. Just trust me, okay? I know what I'm doing."

"What? But..."

 _He told me the same thing,_ Dracula told Ivan.

Ivan looked between the two of them.

"As long as you know what you're doing," he told Tails. "Be careful."

He kissed his boyfriend and left. Tails watched them leave with a smile before returning to the werewolves. "Alpha," he said. "I am sorry for the trouble."

"That wasn't your fault," Mephiles said.

Tails looked back and saw that the vampires were gone. "What would you have me do?"

Mephiles tilted his head to the side. "There's nothing for you in particular to do at the moment."

The wolf bowed and walked away.

Back at the castle, the vampires were thinking about what to do with Tails. Dracula was still a black bear, pacing the room and growling.

Ivan and Shadow looked at each other, then back to the bear. "What's wrong, Vlad?"

 _I can't figure out what Tails is doing._

"Why do you think he's doing this?"

 _Maybe it has something to do with the problem between werewolves and vampires?_

"Maybe," Shadow said.

Vlad growled. _I'm going for a run to think._

Everyone watched the bear leave.

"What should we do?" Sonic asked. "Besides trust Tails."

"Don't trust Mephiles," Scourge told him.

"Of course."

"Is there anything we can do?" Shadow asked.

"Someone should keep an eye on Tails," Scourge said.

"I will," Ivan said.

"All right."

The vampire smiled.


	23. Merlin

Chapter 23: Merlin

Meanwhile, Vlad was walking through the forest, still a bear. He growled as he came to a clearing and sat down. He couldn't figure out what Tails was doing, and it annoyed him. It didn't matter how hard he thought about it, or what angle he tried looking at it from. The bear sighed. He stood on his hind legs and sharpened his claws against a tree. A few minutes later, he heard something. Against his better judgement, Vlad went to investigate the sound. If it came to it, he was more than capable of protecting himself. He saw another bear not far from him, this one a grizzly. It looked at him and shifted into a blue hedgehog. Vlad's eyes widened.

 _Merlin?_

Merlin smiled and tilted his head as Vlad shifted into his regular form. "A pleasure to see you, Vlad."

"It's been a long time, my friend. What are you doing here?"

"I am searching for someone."

Vlad smiled. "And who is that?"

"His name is Sonic."

"He's living with us at our castle."

Merlin smiled. "That's good. I would like to see my son."

"Come with me then."

The two walked out of the forest and headed towards the castle.

"Much has changed since the last time I saw him," Merlin said.

"How so?" Dracula asked.

"The world is vastly different from the one he and I lived in together. I changed with the world; Sonic did not have that option."

"You're immortal, then?"

Merlin nodded. "I discovered the secret to it long ago."

"Do you know about Sonic's curse, Merlin?" Vlad asked, stopping in front of the castle gates.

"Unfortunately." Merlin sighed. "I did everything I could for him after it happened, but breaking that curse was beyond my ability."

"I should warn you that he has amnesia, so he may not remember you," Vlad told him.

They walked into the castle. When they found Sonic, he was in the library. He was talking to the demons he summoned, and turned around when Merlin walked in.

"Hello," he said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Merlin."

"You look a lot like me," Sonic observed.

"I'm your father."

"My father?"

"Yes. It's wonderful to see you again, Sonic."

Sonic blinked. He walked up to Merlin and looked at him. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Wandering Earth, looking for you," Merlin said. "I tried to break your curse but it was too powerful."

"Even you couldn't break it?"

"It was powerful dark magic."

"Figures." He looked at his father. "So, why did you wait until now to find me? My curse has been broken for two months."

"I was busy with things in another country."

"Oh..."

Merlin frowned. "What's wrong, Sonic? You sound upset."

"I just... Never mind. You're here now."

The wizard smiled and hugged his son. 'Who were you talking to?"

"Some demons."

"Demons? How did demons come here?"

"I summoned them. Want to meet them?"

Merlin smiled. "Of course."

Sonic called the demons in to meet Merlin and introduced them. "This is my father," he told them. "His name is Merlin."

"Nice to meet you, Merlin," Scourge said.

"Likewise," Merlin said.

"Merlin?" Finitevus asked. "Is that you?"

"It is. Who- Finitevus?"

"It is I. How have you been?"

Sonic looked between the two. "You know each other?"

Merlin and Finitevus both nodded. "We've known each other for a long time "

"How?"

"We encountered one another a long time ago and somehow became friends," Finitevus said.

Sonic looked at his father. "Are you immortal?"

"I discovered a way to be, yes."

"Oh..." Sonic frowned, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Why is everyone here immortal except me?"

"Everyone else is either a vampire or a demon," Finitevus said. "Merlin uses some kind of magic that I could have sworn was forbidden."

"Still, I find it unfair that you all can't die but I can."

"We can die, Sonic."

"You know what I mean."

"Do you truly wish for immortality that strongly?" Merlin asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. Never mind; I was just thinking out loud."

His father smiled. "That is a subject you should think hard about."

"So...dad," Sonic asked, looking at his father. "How did you become immortal?"

"Old magic." Merlin sighed. "I would rather not talk about it here."

"What kind of magic can you do?"

"I am the greatest wizard to ever live. If there is a magic I cannot do, I would love to hear of it."

"Is there any way I can get my memory back?"

"I know of nothing that can grant you back your memory."

"Your magic can't do that?"

The older hedgehog shook his head. "Plenty of things can alter a person's memories, but nothing can give them back once they've been lost. The only way your memories will come back is if you remember on your own."

Sonic sighed. "Oh well. Any way I can remember?"

"There's no definite way of remembering things. You just have to be patient and hope they come back to you."

"I see..."

Merlin looked at Vlad. "How long has he had amnesia?"

"Since he woke up," Vlad told him.

"How did his curse break?"

"Shadow woke me up," Sonic said. "I led him to my body and he figured it out."

"Led Shadow?" Merlin looked confused, and Sonic smiled.

"While I was sleeping there, I figured out a way for my... I figured out a way to be out of the cave while my body was still inside it. I couldn't leave the forest though."

"So you're a forest spirit, then?" Merlin asked.

Sonic changed form into a blue orb and back. "I can still change into the orb, so I guess."

"Do you have any powers as a spirit?"

"I'm not sure."

"Maybe you could try and see if you do."

Sonic nodded. "What should I do?"

"Focus on the spiritual energy inside you. Come to think of it...since you're a spirit, you should already be immortal."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. Spirits are usually immortal."

Sonic blinked, surprised. "I didn't know that."

His father smiled. "What have you been doing since your curse was broken?"

"Just living here with the vampires and trying to remember things."

"Do you like it here?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said, then smiled. "I'm in a relationship with Vlad and Shadow."

"Both of them?"

"Yep."

"I see."

"Are you okay with that?" Sonic asked his father.

"My opinion is not important as long as you are happy."

Sonic smiled. "I'm very happy."

"The both of them are okay with it?"

"We are," Shadow told the wizard.

Merlin looked at him. "When did you come in?"

"Just now. My name is Shadow, I'm the one who found Sonic. I assume you're his father?"

"I am."

"What's your name?"

"Merlin."

Shadow's eyes widened. "The Merlin from Camelot?"

"The same."

"It's an honor to meet you."

"I have heard Sonic's version of events. How did you find him?"

"He came to me in a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yeah," Shadow said. "It was strange. He said that he saw me interesting and wanted to help me. I wasn't very social at the time and was having family problems."

"What happened after that?"

"He began to talk in my mind; told me that he was a spirit. I went into the forest and saw a blue orb. It led me into a cave where I saw a painting of a hedgehog covered in crystals putting a curse on a blue hedgehog. The orb told me that its body was in a deep sleep, and led me to a coffin. I touched the coffin and Sonic woke."

Merlin nodded. "Interesting," he said. "I did not expect Sonic to become a spirit. He mentioned you and he are in a relationship."

"We are."

"How long?"

"A few weeks."

The wizard smiled. "How did you two fall in love?"

"Well... It... It just happened, I guess."

"I'm glad you two are happy together."

"Thanks."

Merlin looked at his son. "Care to give me a tour of the castle?"

"Of course." Sonic went back to the door and waved for Merlin to follow. "I'll show you around."

Merlin smiled and followed Sonic.


	24. Mephiles and Sonic

Chapter 24: Mephiles And Sonic  


It took a few hours for Sonic to finish showing Merlin around the castle and the grounds.

"This is a grand castle," Merlin said.

"It is."

"Do you like it here?"

"I love it here."

Merlin smiled. "What do you usually do here?"

"Spend time with the others. I've been practicing with my demons. Trying to get back to how I used to be."

"How were you able to summon demons?" Merlin asked.

"I... Remembered how. More or less. When that happened, I gave the magic a try and it worked."

"You know...when you were a kid, you were summoning demons all the time."

"I was?"

"Yes," Merlin said. "You inherited much of my magic."

"What kind of demons were they?"

"Lesser demons."

"Wow. That's...I was summoning them as a child." Sonic grinned. "I must've been a pretty smart kid."

"You were a prodigy," Merlin told him, smiling.

"And I've still got the ability for it. I'm relearning how to use my magic. Sort of."

"Would you like me to teach you?"

"I'd love that. My demons can only teach my so much."

Merlin smiled. "What have you learned so far?" Sonic explained everything the demons had taught him so far. "Impressive. Then I will teach you what I can."

"Thanks."

"What powers do you have as a spirit?" Merlin asked his son.

Sonic thought about it. "Well...the one I used the most when in the forest was appearing in people's dreams. I can also see aura..."

"How did you figure out those?"

"I'm not sure...it just came naturally when I became a spirit. One other power I found out was communicating through the wind."

"Interesting. If you don't mind, I would love to hear about what happened to you after you became a Spirit." Sonic smiled and told him. After he was done, Merlin was silent for a few moments. "That's fascinating. I had no idea such a change could happen."

"Being a spirit is pretty interesting," Sonic told his father.

"It sounds like it is."

The blue hedgehog smiled. "You mentioned that I inherited your magic powers. Which ones?"

"None in particular. You are capable of doing any magic I can, if you have the interest and patience for it."

"Do you know a person named Mephiles?"

"Mephiles..." Merlin sighed. "Mephiles is a daemon. One of the most powerful in existence."

"He's taken the form of a wolf and is leading a werewolf pack in the forest," Sonic said.

"Leading a pack of werewolves? I wonder what he could be planning."

"One of the vampires here, Tails, got bitten by a werewolf and somehow became a werewolf vampire hybrid."

"That's interesting... I didn't think that was possible anymore."

"Do you have any suggestions on what we should do about Mephiles?" Sonic asked his father.

Merlin shook his head. "None at the moment."

"Is there any way to defeat him?"

"Of course. But I'm not certain of his strengths now."

"I see," Sonic said. "Have you ever faced him before?"

"I haven't."

"So...how were you able to become immortal? You mentioned forbidden magic."

"I am not going to explain that to you," Merlin told his son sternly.

"Too complicated?" Sonic asked.

"It's forbidden."

"Makes sense. Hey, have you met Dracula before? You two seem to know each other."

"Once or twice."

"How did you two meet?"

"We ran into each other on our travels."

"That's neat," Sonic said. "What did you do in your travels?"

The older hedgehog smiled. "So many things I'm not sure where to begin."

Scourge walked up and bowed. "Master, there seem to be some werewolves coming up to the castle."

Sonic looked at the demon in hedgehog form. "Werewolves? Does Dracula know yet?"

"Yes. He's speaking to them."

"Huh. Wonder what they're talking about."

"They want to see you."

"Oh. Guess I should get going then."

Sonic walked out of the room and out of the castle. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," the anthro to his right said. Sonic blinked; it was Tails. "Our Alpha, Mephiles, wishes to see you."

"Why me?"

"He said you two have history."

So Mephiles was going to get right to it. Whatever it was. "Okay. You want me to go back with you?"

Tails nodded. "Yes."

Sonic nodded. "Let's go then." Tails smiled and led Sonic towards the forest. "So, Tails," Sonic said. "I assume you're loyal to Mephiles? You called him your Alpha."

"He is my alpha," Tails said. "As the pack leader."

"What do you think about being a werewolf?"

"It's different."

"How's it different?" Sonic asked.

The hybrid looked at him. "My body, for one thing. You know how werewolves change shape under the full moon? That is not the same as a vampire changing shape."

"Do you change on the full moon now?"

Tails nodded. "A wolf form."

"I see...that's interesting. Do you have any weaknesses that a werewolf has?"

"Probably."

They reached the wolf pack, and Tails bowed before his Alpha. "I've brought Sonic."

"Excellent," Mephiles said.

Sonic looked at the alpha wolf. "What did you want to see me about?"

"You and I have history, Sonic."

Sonic nodded. "I sort of remember."

"What do you remember?" The Alpha wolf asked.

"Your name. Something involving magic not going the way I wanted it to."

"You used dark magic to summon me."

"So, it's dark magic just because I'm summoning a daemon?"

"Yes," Mephiles said.

"Huh. I thought it was neutral."

"Why did you summon me anyway? It's been so long I forgot the reason."

Sonic shrugged. "I haven't remembered that yet."

He looked at Mephiles suspiciously. "Why did you bring me here? Just to talk, or something else?"

"Is there a problem with us simply talking?"

"I'm just suspicious, is all. You did curse me."

"It was what you deserved."

"What makes you say that?"

"I think I'll let you remember that on your own."

"What can you tell me about my past?" Sonic asked.

"Plenty. Here may not be the best location for such a discussion."

"Why are you posing as an Alpha wolf? Aren't you a demon?"

Mephiles growled. "Not here." He walked away and Sonic followed him. After they were a safe distance away, Mephiles turned to look at Sonic. "What do you want to know first?"

"What can you tell me about my past?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that."

"What was my life like in Camelot?"

"Happy, if I remember correctly."

"How long were you there?" Sonic asked.

"A few months." The wolf walked up to Sonic and sat on his haunches. "I suppose I should tell you that we were once in a relationship."

"We were?"

"Yes. We loved each other very much...to be honest, I still do."

"You... That's flattering, but I..." Sonic shook his head. "I'm with someone already."

The wolf stared at him, then growled angrily. "But you and I love each other! Don't you remember?"

"I barely remember anything from my past."

"Who are you in love with?" When Sonic told him. Mephiles whimpered sadly and hung his head. After a few moments, he said: "I think you should leave, Sonic."

The spirit blinked; Mephiles sounded hurt. He hoped he hadn't offended the wolf. Now he felt guilty. "But..."

"Leave!"

Sonic turned and left when Mephiles told him to. He didn't particularly like knowing he had upset the demon, but there wasn't anything he could really do about it. He sighed, thinking about what Mephiles had told him. It was odd, knowing that they had been lovers in the past but he didn't remember it. Mephiles obviously wanted to be together with him again.


End file.
